Arusha. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) has ordered the Tanzania government to amend its Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death penalty for persons convicted of murder.
The ruling targets Section 197 of Tanzania’s Penal Code, which currently prescribes only one punishment for murder, death by hanging, with no alternative sentence available to judges.
The Court held that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty violates fundamental human rights, including the right to life, as protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a treaty ratified by Tanzania.
The decision was delivered on Friday, June 5, 2026, by a panel of eight judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, led by President Blaise Tchikaya and Vice-President Chafika Bensaoula.
The ruling arose from three separate cases involving seven death-row inmates convicted of murder and awaiting execution in different prisons across Tanzania.
The applicants argued that Tanzania had violated several of their fundamental rights, including the rights to life, human dignity, a fair trial, legal representation and a hearing within a reasonable time.
Chacha Jeremiah case
In the first case, Chacha Jeremiah, Methew Jeremiah Daud and Paschal Ligoye Mashiku, who were serving death sentences at Butimba Central Prison in Mwanza, filed joined Applications Nos. 039/2019, 040/2019 and 041/2019 before the African Court.
The three applicants sought recognition that their rights had been violated and requested compensation of $10,000 each, alongside other remedies, including release from prison.
They argued that both the mandatory death sentence and execution by hanging violated their rights to life and human dignity under Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter.
They further contended that the mandatory nature of the sentence deprived judges of the discretion to consider the individual circumstances of an offender and the specific facts of a case before imposing punishment.
After reviewing the matter, the Court agreed with their arguments, ruling that mandatory death sentences violate the right to due process because they remove judicial discretion in sentencing.
The Court also found that hanging as the sole method of execution violates the right to human dignity.
As a result, the Court ordered Tanzania to abolish the mandatory death penalty from its laws, remove hanging as a method of execution, set aside the applicants’ death sentences and remove them from death row.
The Court further directed Tanzanian authorities to conduct fresh sentencing hearings that allow judges to exercise discretion when determining punishment.
Each applicant was also awarded Sh100,000 in compensation for moral damages resulting from the violations.
Godfrey Gabinus Ndimba case
In the second case, Application No. 056/2019, Mr Godfrey Gabinus Ndimba, and two co-applicants, who were being held at Lindi District Prison awaiting execution, challenged the conduct of their criminal proceedings and the mandatory death sentences imposed on them.
Among their complaints were the mandatory nature of the death penalty and the use of hanging as the means of execution.
The African Court ruled that mandatory death sentences violate Article 4 of the African Charter, which protects the right to life.
It further found that execution by hanging violates Article 5 of the Charter, which guarantees respect for human dignity.
The Court consequently ordered Tanzania to quash the applicants’ death sentences, remove them from death row, amend its laws to eliminate mandatory death sentences and hanging, and conduct fresh sentencing proceedings that permit judicial discretion.
Each applicant was awarded Sh300,000 in compensation for moral damages.
Masudi Said Selemani case
In the third case, Application No. 042/2019, Mr Masudi Said Selemani, who was serving a death sentence at Lilungu Central Prison in Mtwara, challenged both his sentence and the manner in which it was to be carried out.
Mr Selemani argued that being sentenced to death without the sentencing judge having an opportunity to consider the circumstances of his case violated his right to life.
He also maintained that the prolonged period spent on death row, combined with hanging as the method of execution, violated his right to human dignity.
The Court agreed, finding that the mandatory death penalty breaches Article 4 of the African Charter, while both hanging and prolonged detention on death row violate Article 5.
The Court ordered Tanzania to remove the mandatory death penalty and hanging from its legal framework, overturn Mr Selemani’s death sentence, remove him from death row and conduct a new sentencing hearing that allows the judge to exercise discretion. He was also awarded Sh300,000 in compensation for moral damages.
Court directives to Tanzania
In all three judgments, the African Court emphasised that Tanzania must take all necessary measures, without delay, to amend its laws and abolish both the mandatory death penalty and hanging as a method of execution.
The Court further ordered that the judgments be published on the websites of the Tanzanian Judiciary and the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs within three months.
The government was also directed to submit reports to the African Court detailing the steps taken to implement the rulings.
Speaking after the judgment, counsel for the applicants, Mr Emmanuel Sood, said the Court dismissed several of the remedies sought by his clients, including their request for $10,000 in compensation and their plea for immediate release from prison.
However, he welcomed the Court’s decision to grant what he described as the most significant relief sought in the cases.
“The major outcome is the Court’s order requiring Tanzania to abolish the mandatory death penalty and remove hanging as a method of execution. We believe this is a matter that the government will now be compelled to address,” said Mr Sood.
He said the judgments are expected to intensify pressure on the government to align its criminal justice system with evolving regional and international human rights standards.
