Zimbabwe’s decision to completely abolish the death penalty has been widely praised, as the Cabinet has endorsed a Private Member’s Bill seeking to eliminate capital punishment in the country. This move signifies a significant shift as life imprisonment is set to become the maximum sentence for aggravated murder.
The exemption of women, individuals under 21, and those over 70 from the death penalty charge is a notable provision in Zimbabwe’s judicial amendments. Despite an informal moratorium on executions since 2005, the law permitting adult men to receive the death penalty for aggravated murder has remained in force.
Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, Ms. Khanyo Farisè, expressed appreciation for Zimbabwe’s step towards ending the death penalty, labeling it as a positive advancement. She emphasized Amnesty International’s firm stance against the death penalty, citing its violation of the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Farisè urged Parliament to uphold the abolition by enacting legislation to formalize the change.
While the Cabinet has approved the Bill to abolish the death penalty, it also advocates for imposing lengthy sentences to deter murder. Specifically, circumstances such as murder committed against law enforcement officials, minors, pregnant women, or in connection with other serious crimes, or with premeditation, are highlighted as warranting severe penalties.
Although Zimbabwe’s last execution took place in 2005, the imposition of death sentences has persisted. The evolution of the death penalty laws in Zimbabwe, inherited from the colonial era, saw the removal of security-related crimes as punishable by death. Furthermore, the 2013 Constitution abolished the death penalty for offenses like treason, leaving Parliament with the discretion to retain the penalty for aggravated murder by adult men. Now, Parliament is poised to eliminate the death penalty altogether.
