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Zimbabwe Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Decision

Zimbabwe abolished its death penalty almost 20 years after the country's last execution. 

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who faced the death penalty himself during the War of Independence in the 1960s, signed the law after the bill passed the Parliament. The last execution by hanging in the country occurred in 2005, largely due to a lack of interest in the job of state executioner. However, its courts continued to sentence people to death for serious crimes like murder.

Zimbabwe has about 60 prisoners on death row, and the new law spares them.

Amnesty International described the law as "a beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region," but regretted that the death penalty might be reinstated under a state of emergency. African countries such as Kenya, Liberia and Ghana have also taken steps toward abolishing the death penalty but have not yet enacted it, according to a human rights group.

InFocus

Nick Youngson/Alpha Stock Images

(file photo).

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