By Dumisani Ndlovu
Amnesty International recently gave Zimbabwe an affectionate pat on the back for its decision to abolish the death penalty saying this ‘inhuman’ form of punishment has no place in the world.
The human rights watchdog (Amnesty International) made the sentiment on Friday.
The government of Zimbabwe through the cabinet approved the abolition of the death penalty while approving the imposition of lengthy to life jail sentences for crimes involving murder.
In a statement, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè, said the move by Zimbabwe to stop executions of prisoners was progressive.
“Zimbabwe has taken the right step towards ending this abhorrent and inhuman form of punishment that has no place in our world,” he said.
“Now that the cabinet has given its nod, Parliament must ensure the death penalty is truly abolished by voting to pass legislation that will make this a reality,” he said.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, arguing that it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the constitution providing for the death penalty, and the courts continuing to impose the death sentence, Zimbabwe has not carried out an execution since 2005, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa periodically commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
Offenders can currently be sentenced to death for three offences – namely treason; where the act of insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism results in the death of a person; for murder and for attempted murder or incitement or conspiracy to commit murder.
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