ZIMBABWE’S Senate has passed a landmark bill to abolish the death penalty, a significant move in the country’s ongoing justice reforms. The bill, approved late on Wednesday, now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s signature, which is expected to be granted soon.
The Southern African nation has not executed anyone since 2005, largely due to difficulties in finding a state executioner, and its last death sentences were commuted by presidential amnesties. Zimbabwe’s move follows a broader global trend where more countries are abandoning the death penalty, with Amnesty International calling on Mnangagwa to swiftly enact the law.
A step toward justice reform
President Mnangagwa, who has publicly opposed capital punishment, has personal reasons for his stance. He was once sentenced to death during the country’s war of independence in the 1960s, a sentence later reduced to 10 years in prison. Since assuming office in 2017, he has used his power to commute death sentences to life imprisonment.
Amnesty International has welcomed the bill’s passage and urged the president to expedite its enactment. The rights group also called on the government to commute the sentences of the 60 prisoners currently on death row in Zimbabwe.
A global trend away from the death penalty
The abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe reflects a growing global trend. Amnesty International reported that around three-quarters of the world’s countries have moved away from capital punishment. Although Zimbabwe remains one of the few African countries that still enforces the death penalty by law, it joins nations like Kenya, Liberia, and Ghana in taking positive steps toward abolition.
Globally, Amnesty documented a rise in executions, with 1,153 known executions carried out in 2023. However, the number of countries carrying out executions has decreased, dropping from 20 to 16. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China remain the world’s leading executioners, accounting for the vast majority of executions last year.
The Zimbabwe bill marks a historic move for human rights in the country, positioning it alongside other African nations advocating for the end of the death penalty and broader justice reforms.
