The pardon procedures under the pardon guidelines dictate that the inmate to be pardoned should serve at least half of the sentence apart from showing good behaviour.
Attorney General, Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, made the remarks in a response to Leader of Opposition (LOP) Kondwani Nankhumwa’s plea to President Dr Lazarus Chakwera to pardon two inmates, former Malawi Electoral Commissioner, Linda Kunje, and John Mussa, a teenager serving a three-year jail term for possessing Indian hemp.
In the letter, titled, ‘An Appeal to Pardon John Mussa and Commissioner Kunje,’ Nankhumwa said some people who were previously convicted on similar offences like Kunje and Mussa or even worse, walked out with fines.
Commissioner Kunje was convicted last month of criminal recklessness and negligence after obstructing the presidential convoy in 2020 and is currently serving an 18-month jail sentence.
However, the AG said there are guidelines and procedures the President follows before pardoning inmates, and not doing the same under external pressure.
