The cabinet meeting on October 18 approved a presidential order granting pardon to 32 convicts and a ministerial order granting release on parole to 2,017 convicts.
Chaired by President Paul Kagame, the cabinet meeting further approved ratification of agreement on transfer of convicts between Rwanda and Zambia, then Angola respectively.
In Rwanda, several convicts were released on parole while scores of convicts were also pardoned by the head of State.
For example, in July 2021 the president pardoned 10 girls that were convicted for abortion while a ministerial order released 4,781 convicts on parole.
In September 2018, controversial politician Ingabire Victoire was pardoned together with a famous artist late Kizito Mihigo.
In January 2018, the president granted mercy to 18 youth who were serving their respective sentences in Nyagatare Prison and who displayed good behavior and passed national examinations with very high grades.
Among these youth, one was serving a ten-year sentence and had covered just one year, according to Rwanda Correctional Service(RCS).
Other 392 convicts who had fulfilled legal requirements were also released on parole.
On the list of convicts that were released on parole, five were inmates who were serving life sentence.
Parole is a temporary release of a prisoner who agrees to certain conditions before the completion of their sentence.
Release on parole is possible for convicts who were sentenced to life in jail who have already served 20 years exhibiting an exemplary discipline all along.
For those who were sentenced to less than 30 years, parole is also possible when they have served two thirds (2/3) of their sentence. Discipline condition applies to either category.
However, there are categories of convicts who do not qualify for parole and these include; convicts that were sentenced over Genocide crimes and crimes against humanity, torture, and molestation, just to mention a few.
For cases of parole, inmates who think that they qualify to apply for it submit their application to RCS which does a screening and then submits the list of those who qualify to competent authorities.
The authorities are invested with power to grant the release on parole or not.
