Death Penalty Has Now Been Abolished In Zimbabwe

On Tuesday, December 31st, President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed a bill into law that will commute the sentences of approximately 60 death row inmates to jail time.

Because no one was willing to take on the role of state executioner at one point, the last execution took place in 2005, nearly two decades ago.

During Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence in the 1960s, President Mnangagwa was himself subject to the death penalty.

Amnesty International praised the new law, calling it a significant step toward the country’s progress and a turning point in the fight against “cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment” in a post on X, they said it is a “beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region”.

The group that opposes the death penalty claims that although other African nations like Kenya, Liberia, and Ghana have recently taken “positive steps” toward outlawing the death penalty, they have not yet done so.

Since 2017, the Zimbabwean leader has openly voiced his opposition to the death penalty. He has mentioned his personal experience of being given a death sentence for blowing the whistle, which was later reduced to a 10-year prison term.

Additionally, he has frequently commuted the death sentences of different prisoners to life in prison by using his presidential powers.

This Is One Of The Strangest Countries In The World

Amnesty International reports that 113 nations worldwide—24 of which are in Africa—have completely abolished the death penalty. According to the group, there were nearly 1,200 known executions worldwide in 2023, a significant rise from the less than 900 cases that were reported the year before.

Nearly 90% of all executions that Amnesty International has documented in 2023 have taken place in Saudi Arabia and Iran. The US and Somalia were the next two nations to follow. Until the cruel sentence is completely abolished, the group says it will keep up its campaign against it.