Zimbabwe abolishes death penalty

Zimbabwe has officially abolished the death penalty after President Emmerson Mnangagwa approved a law that will end capital punishment.

President Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill into law on Tuesday after it was passed by Parliament earlier in December.

Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the law, but bemoaned the fact that it can be reinstated through a state of emergency.

 “Amnesty International applauds Zimbabwe’s decision to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, but regrets the possibility of its reinstatement during state of emergency under the Defence Act,” said Amnesty International Zimbabwe executive director Lucia Masuka.

“This is not just great progress for Zimbabwe, it is also a beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region, and a major milestone in the global collective pursuit for an end to this ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.” 

She said by enacting the Death Penalty Abolition Bill, Zimbabwe had taken a major step towards aligning its laws with international human rights standards.

“Its actions also send a clear message about the fundamental importance of protecting the right to life and human dignity,” Ms Masuka added.

“We urge the authorities to now swiftly move to a full abolition of the death penalty by removing the clause included in the amendments to the Bill allowing for the use of the death penalty for the duration of any state of public emergency.

Before the enactment of the new law, Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Code, Criminal Procedure Law and the Defence Act allowed the death penalty in cases of murder committed under aggravating circumstances.

But, a new provision in the Defence Act introduced by the Death Penalty Abolition Act, 2024 allows for the reinstatement of the death penalty when any state of public emergency is declared. 

At least 59 people were on death row in Zimbabwe at the end of 2023, but the country has not executed anyone since 2005 due to difficulties in recruiting a hangman.

Zimbabwe became the 24th African country to abolish the death penalty. Four of them, Chad, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Zambia, abolished capital punishment after 2000.

There are 113 countries in the world that have abolished the death penalty.

In Zimbabwe, the death penalty was introduced during the colonial era.

Since coming to power in 2017, President Mnangagwa has been pushing for its abolition, citing his own experience of being sentenced to death in the 1960s for blowing up a train during the war for independence. His sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison.