MURAMVYA, November 18th (ABP) – The Head of State and President of the High Council of the Judiciary, Evariste Ndayishimiye, launched on Thursday, November 14, 2024, in the Muramvya prison (Centre-West), the campaign to reduce prison population throughout the country. The number of beneficiaries of this presidential pardon amounts to 477 from Muramvya prison while the total for all prisons will be 5,442.
During that activity, the President of the Republic immediately led a moralization session for the prisoners and the judicial or administrative officials who were on site.
In his remarks, the Burundian number one leader insisted on the burden for the country and for the families of the prisoners to support them. The Head of State also indicated that more than 15 billion of our francs are deployed per year for the operation of prisons, which showcases that having more prisoners is a great loss for the country, he stressed.
Mr. Ndayishimiye called on all Burundians to engage in work to escape offenses while hoping that every Burundian would be involved in the journey towards the vision of Burundi as an emerging country by 2040 and as a developed country in 2060; hence this pardon for prisoners so that they join others in the development work of the country and their own families.
For his part, the Attorney General of the Republic, Léonard Manirakiza, presented to the Head of State a report on the activities related to that campaign. He indicated that following the recommendation of the Head of State of December 31, 2023, relating to the reduction of prisoners, the Attorney General set up a commission responsible for the implementation of that activity. The said commission made trips to 11 prisons and 2 rehabilitation centers for children in conflict with the law in order to study the files, inmate by inmate, in order to identify those who are eligible to benefit from the presidential pardon.
The Attorney General noted that the offenses that are not covered by this measure include, among others, threat to public security, inhuman and degrading crimes, rape and any form of killing.
He specified that the commission set up was able to identify 5,442 out of 13,211 prisoners. Therefore, 41% of prisoners are identified to benefit from the presidential pardon.
The inmates who benefited from the presidential pardon were recommended four things namely obedience to their neighbor and the property of others, respect for the law and the authorities of the country without forgetting to avoid falling into the same offenses and rolling up their sleeves to self-develop.
It is worth noting that those who had been convicted of corruption or squandering of public property will no longer be received in the function and even in private companies. They must work for themselves or in community cooperatives. Similarly, those who have damaged the property of others must pay compensation according to the agreements they will sign to leave the prison, the Head of State insisted.
Note that the beneficiaries of that presidential pardon from Muramvya prison as well as the prison itself received, from the Head of State, aid consisting of rice and soaps for hygiene.