Why Kenya has not eliminated the death punishment

In latest months, two African countries have proclaimed their plans to get rid of the death penalty – Zambia and the Central African Republic (CAR).

In entirely, 22 member countries of the African Union (AU) have ended the death punishment for all crimes, and one for common crimes. In 2021, just four countries in the AU carried out executions: Botswana, Egypt, Somalia and South Sudan.

17 African nations are considered “de facto abolitionist” countries, meaning that they have not carried out an execution in ten years.

These include Kenya, which maintains the death punishment by hanging – a British colonial relic. This sentence can be given for the crimes of murder, other crimes resulting in death, robbery not resulting in death and treason.

Kenya hasn’t carried out an execution since 1987, when Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu were executed for their role in the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow President Daniel Arap Moi in 1982.