Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has pardoned 588 inmates in various correctional facilities across the country.
The freed prisoners include 11 elderly and one mother with a baby, local media quoted Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimb as saying.
The life sentence of an inmate has been commuted to 35 years while two inmates on death row have their sentences commuted to life, the minister told journalists in the capital Lusaka on Sunday.
The pardoning of the inmates by President Hichilema was in line with Article 97 of the country's Constitution which confers authority on the president to pardon or substitute punishments imposed on convicted persons, Minister Jack Mwiimbu added.
He said the pardoned inmates had demonstrated good conduct after undergoing rehabilitation processes that will enable them integrate well into the society.
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