ACTING Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Commissioner-General Shepherd Mpofu says the release of convicted Murewa rapist and Zanu PF supporter Bobby Makaza was above board.
Makaza was freed courtesy of a presidential amnesty in May this year.
His release after serving less than five years of his 16-year jail term generated heated debate among the general public and human rights lawyers.
Makaza was jailed for raping a juvenile.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), on behalf of the juvenile’s parents, filed an application at the High Court seeking his re-arrest saying Makaza’s release was irregular.
They argued that Makaza, being an inmate convicted of rape which is a specified offence, was not entitled to benefit from the presidential amnesty.
In a July 31 response, Mpofu said Makaza was released after a thorough assessment of his identity and age.
“I wish to state categorically that the first respondent (Makaza) was correctly released from prison after a thorough assessment of his identity and age,” Mpofu said.
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“The applicant should be informed that the reason for first [respondent]’s release is primarily based on Clemency Order 1 of 2023 in which full remission of sentence was granted to prisoners with 60 years and above regardless of offence, save for those who were sentenced to life imprisonment, death or those convicted of public violence.
“It is, therefore, malicious and ridiculous to suggest that the first respondent was excluded from benefiting from the clemency order.”
Makaza trended for his “EDHuchi (Mnangagwa is honey) slogan after his release from prison.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga are cited as respondents in the matter.
