Dar es Salaam — Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has pardoned 1,631 prisoners in commemoration of the east African nation's 61 years of independence on Dec. 9, an official said late Saturday.

Minister for Home Affairs Hamad Masauni said in a statement that beneficiaries of the presidential amnesty include women who were pregnant at the time of their jailing.

The statement said other prisoners that will benefit from the presidential pardon included those who were terminally ill and approved by a panel of medical doctors under the chair of a district or a regional commissioner.

Prisoners aged above 70 years will also enjoy the presidential amnesty after approval from a panel of medical doctors under the chair of a district or a regional commissioner, said the statement.

According to the statement, women prisoners that are breastfeeding their children and prisoners with disabilities will also be considered for the presidential amnesty.

However, the statement said prisoners who were jailed after they had been convicted of impregnating school girls and gender-based violence will not benefit from the presidential amnesty.

The statement added that other prisoners that will not be considered for the presidential amnesty included those convicted of armed robberies and economic sabotage.