President Yoweri Museveni has exercised Article 121(1)(a) of the constitution to pardon 79 prisoners, including Doralys Rodriguez Fagundez, a Venezuelan national who was arrested in June of 2018 and had been serving a sentence for drug trafficking in Luzira.
Museveni signed the pardon, which was based on public health and humanitarian grounds, on Jan 3.
“In exercise of the power vest in me under Article 121(1) (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and on the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, I hereby grant pardon to these persons,” reads Museveni’s letter to the Commissioner General of Prisons.
The prisoners were serving sentences at different prisons across the country
In 2020, President Museveni pardoned 833 prisoners through the Prerogative of Mercy as a measure against the spread of COVID-19 by decongesting the prison facilities.