Zimbabwe Makes History by Outlawing the Death Penalty

The death penalty was abolished in Zimbabwe over 20 years after the last execution in the nation.

The bill was approved by Parliament and signed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who himself was subject to the death penalty during the 1960s War of Independence. A lack of enthusiasm in the position of official executioner was a major factor in the country’s 2005 hanging execution. Nevertheless, its courts still executed people for capital offenses like murder.

There are roughly 60 death row inmates in Zimbabwe, and the new law spares them.

According to Amnesty International, the bill represents “a beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region,” but they expressed worry that a state of emergency might allow the death sentence to be reinstalled. Several African nations, including Ghana, Kenya, and Liberia, have taken efforts to abolish the death sentence but have not yet done so, according to a human rights organization.