Zimbabwe Human Rights and Death Penalty

Low turnout as Bulawayo residents snub death penalty consultation

Ministry of Justice, legal and Parliamentary Affairs started public consultations on the Death penalty in Zimbabwe on a low turn out as Bulawayo residents snubbed the consultation.

Bulawayo residents largely stayed away from a government outreach process called on Friday to share their views on the death penalty with a few individuals who convened at City Hall. The consultation was attended by approximately 12 people and a couple of journalists.

Diverse views expressed at death penalty consultation

The people who attended however aired out diverse views as others were saying it should be abolished while others were saying it should be considered.

Christian Legal Society representative Nicholas Ngwenya stated that death penalty must be considered as it can deter murder.

“Death penalty will instill fear on people not to commit murder as they will know if they kill someone in aggravated circumstances they will be hanged and die too,” Ngwenya proposed.

On the other hand, Mitchel Phiri suggested that death penalty must be abandoned as it violates human rights.

She affirmed that, “death penalty is an infringement of human rights as it gives some people power and right to determine whether the other person dies or not.”

Director of Law Development Commission explains purpose of death penalty consultations

During a media interview, Netsai Zvakasikwa, who is the Director of the Law Development Commission for the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, conveyed that their ministry is currently conducting consultations on the death penalty. The aim of these consultations is to gather the views of Zimbabwean citizens on whether to maintain or abolish the death penalty.

“We currently have a de-facto monotorium (though a person may be sentenced to death according to the law,they are currently not executed or hanged) since 2005 so we want to come up with a position as Zimbabwe just like other countries whether we abolish it or not,” declared by Zvakasikwa.

Zvakasikwa added that it is a democratic law making tenet to consult Zimbabwean citizens so that the law on capital punishment we are coming up with can be received by them.

African Union countries and death penalty: trends and statistics

Meanwhile, 22 African Union (AU) members have done away with the death sentence for all crimes, along with one for lesser offenses. Only four African Union (AU) nations conducted out executions in 2021 that are Botswana, Egypt, Somalia, and South Sudan.

17 African nations are regarded as “de facto abolitionist” governments. Zambia and the Central African Republic, two African nations, both declared their plans to end the death penalty in recent months.