Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa — who has not signed death warrants for those facing capital sentences since he came to power in 2017 — signed the death penalty abolition bill into law Dec. 31, 2024, presidential spokesman George Charamba confirmed to VOA.
“Yes, the president had a personal role he played in moving matters in that direction, and this [is] arising from his own historical experience [as] a prisoner who had been condemned but only survived on the basis of age. But we want to situate this decision as a decision of parliament,” Charamba said.
Mnangagwa survived a death sentence during the colonial era in the 1970s, as he was considered underage to face the gallows. Edwin Mushoriwa, an opposition member of parliament, introduced the death abolition bill. And parliament — which is dominated by the ruling ZANU-PF — accepted the idea.
“We are happy [with the] milestone we have actually reached,” Mushoriwa told VOA on Tuesday. “The reason I had to bring that bill actually [has] to do with the fact that out of the 62 inmates today on the death row, the majority of them come from poor backgrounds. Secondly, [the] death penalty by nature is not part of our culture as Africans, as Zimbabweans. It’s a penalty that was brought during the colonial era. So, we just believe that [the] death penalty is not proper.”
Several human rights groups have been calling for Zimbabwe to abolish the death penalty.
Parvais Jabbar, executive director of the London-based NGO called the Death Penalty Project, said Zimbabwe has joined two-thirds of the world that no longer uses capital punishment as a lawful sanction.
“In fact, in the African Union alone, there have been a number of countries that have abolished a death penalty in recent years. So, there is clearly an African movement taking place in relation to this issue,” Jabbar said.
“I'm also encouraged by the government’s statements about respect for human rights in abolishing the death penalty, and I hope it will be taken and seen as an opportunity for further reforms in the area of human rights,” Jabbar added. “This should not be seen as the end but the beginning of wider reforms. I also hope this will provide a stimulus for other countries in the region to also consider abolition — countries like Kenya, and others.”
But not everyone is happy with the bill. Vincent Mazilankatha, an artisan miner, said deaths have risen in his area of trade since the bill was first discussed.
“If you just look at how people are killing each other, especially in the mining areas, that's when you see that [the] death penalty was supposed to remain in place. Because before, people were so afraid that if you kill, you're going to be hanged. So, I think it's not good at all,” Mazilankatha said.
“This act was supposed to be there and to remain in place as just [a] deterrent, because before talking about the abolition of [the] death penalty, people were not killing each other like what they are doing now,” he added. “Imagine a person who has killed someone gets 20 years' imprisonment. And that person is 21 years [old]. When he comes out, [he’s] 41 years [old]. Then life goes on. It's not fair at all.”
Amnesty International said Zimbabwe joins 24 countries across sub-Saharan Africa that have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while two additional countries have abolished it for ordinary crimes only.
Zimbabwe’s last-known execution was in 2005, though courts continued to impose death sentences for cases of murder committed under aggravating circumstances.
