Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has officially approved a law abolishing the death penalty, effective immediately.
This landmark decision follows a Parliamentary vote earlier in December that favored scrapping capital punishment, marking a significant shift in the Southern African nation’s legal landscape.
Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the announcement, calling it a “beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region.”
However, the organization expressed concern about a clause that allows for the reinstatement of the death penalty during a state of emergency.
“While this is great progress for Zimbabwe, we urge the authorities to remove the clause allowing for capital punishment under emergency conditions,” the group stated.
Zimbabwe has not carried out an execution since 2005, yet the courts continued to impose death sentences for serious crimes, including murder. According to Amnesty International, approximately 60 individuals were on death row at the end of 2023.
These prisoners will now be resentenced, with judges instructed to consider the nature of their crimes, the time spent on death row, and their personal circumstances.
“This is a crucial step towards justice and fairness for those previously sentenced to death,” the state-owned Herald newspaper reported.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi emphasized the significance of this reform, stating,
“The abolition of the death penalty is more than a legal change; it is a statement of our commitment to justice and humanity.”
The death penalty has historical roots in Zimbabwe, having been introduced during British colonial rule. President Mnangagwa, a long-time critic of capital punishment, reflected on his own experience of being sentenced to death in the 1960s for his involvement in the guerrilla war for independence. His sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison.
The Death Penalty Abolition Act was published in the government gazette following Mnangagwa’s signature, further solidifying this pivotal change in law. Amnesty International highlighted the move as a “major milestone” in the global efforts to end what they describe as “the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.”
As Zimbabwean citizens and rights advocates celebrate this progress, concerns remain about the political climate under Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF party, which has governed since the country’s independence in 1980. Accusations of authoritarianism and repression have been levied against the party by opposition groups and human rights organizations.
Globally, 113 countries, including 24 in Africa, have fully abolished the death penalty, according to Amnesty International. In stark contrast, the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United States.
Zim GBC News