President Edgar Lungu has pardoned 593 inmates from various correctional facilities in the country to commemorate the 2018 Christmas day.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has told journalists in Shiwang’andu Constituency that the inmates consist of convicts serving both short and long term sentences.

Kampyongo said short term sentences range from 6 months to 5 years while long term sentences range from 5 to about 35 years.

Five hundred and forty male inmates who have been pardoned account for 3 percent of the male population in incarceration while 45 females that have been pardoned account for seven percent of the female population in the correctional facilities in the country.