Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has enacted a law abolishing the death penalty, a decision that takes immediate effect. This historic move follows a parliamentary vote earlier in December to scrap capital punishment in the southern African nation.
Rights group Amnesty International praised the move as a “beacon of hope” for the abolitionist movement but noted the potential for reinstatement during a state of emergency.
Zimbabwe, which last conducted an execution in 2005, had continued sentencing individuals to death for serious crimes like murder. At the end of 2023, about 60 death row inmates were awaiting re-sentencing, with judges instructed to consider factors such as the nature of the crime, time served, and personal circumstances.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi described the abolition as a significant step toward justice and humanity.
The death penalty, introduced during British colonial rule, has long been criticized by Mnangagwa, who himself narrowly escaped execution in the 1960s during Zimbabwe’s independence struggle.
The Death Penalty Abolition Act was officially published in the government gazette on Tuesday, marking a new era for Zimbabwe’s justice system.
Amnesty said the move was not “just great progress” for Zimbabwe but also a “major milestone” in international efforts to end “this ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment”.
It urged the Zimbabwean authorities to “remove 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”.
Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
It has repeatedly been accused by opposition and rights groups of ruling with an iron fist in its bid to remain in power.
Globally, 113 countries, including 24 in Africa, have fully abolished the death penalty, according to Amnesty.
The five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the US, the rights group added.
