Zimbabwe: Death Penalty Abolition Bill Sails Through Senate

THE Death Penalty Abolition Bill sailed through the Senate and now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s approval to become law.

The last execution in Zimbabwe was nearly two decades ago in 2005 and at the moment, Zimbabwe has over 60 prisoners on death row.

Mnangagwa has expressed he is against capital punishment, sharing his own experience when his death sentence for blowing up a train during the 1960s war was commuted to 10 years in prison.

After a lengthy debate, the Bill was read for the second time with few amendments and finally read for the third time without any amendments before being passed.

Prior to the Senate’s approval of the Bill, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi warned Senate members about its sensitivity: “I stand before this House to seek the abolition of the death penalty. The deliberation will be emotional.

“Not of this or that other human being but as part of human beings whose crimes are such of a heinous nature that our society is called to legislate that they must die if found guilty by the court of law,” Ziyambi told the acting Senate President.

He added; “Almost all cultures in Zimbabwe have marked out certain crimes to be deserving capital punishment. Our indigenous culture had less problems and messier than any foreign culture. The deserving of death has been perceived to be inhuman.

“Culturally and historically, before colonisers came to our country, we had no death penalty. In vernacular, we would say ‘Mushonga wengozi kuiripa, kwete kuuraya’.

“Our culture does not allow us to kill someone because they have murdered someone. In Shona we would say, ‘Ngozi inoripwa’. That is the point that I am trying to put across Mr. President.

“Can the death penalty actually deter crimes or not? Also, let us not forget that the death penalty is irreversible.”

Senator Tongogara called the death penalty, “a landmark piece of legislation that seeks to fundamentally transform Zimbabwe’s criminal justice system.

“This Bill, reflective of a growing global movement towards the abolition of capital punishment, demands our attention as legislators entrusted with the mandate to uphold justice, preserve human dignity and ensure that our legal framework aligns with the contemporary human rights standard.”

She said, “Globally, 112 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes and 142 were abolitionist in law or practice.

“By joining this growing majority, Zimbabwe strengthens its position as a progressive nation committed to human rights and justice.

In Africa, Mozambique; Namibia; and South Africa abolished the death penalty long back whilst Rwanda, after the genocide abolished the death penalty in 2007.

“While some argue that the death penalty serves as a deterrent, research consistently challenges this assumption. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that there is no conclusive evidence linking the death penalty to reduced crime rates. Conversely, countries with abolitionist policies have often reported declines in violent crime.

“In Zimbabwe, the rate of brutal murders remains a significant concern. According to Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) statistics, 1642 murder cases were recorded in 2023,” Tongogara said.

She urged Zimbabwe to follow President Mnangagwa, as a longstanding advocate for the abolition of capital punishment.

However, Senator Linda Sibanda differed, “I rise with a heavy heart. Being a woman, a mother, a citizen and at the same time a Senator of this country who has got a cousin who is lying in the mortuary right now, whom we have been looking for, for about two weeks now, who was found dead at Fig Tree.

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“Hilary Muleya, who was murdered by a person who we do not know even up to today. I am here to serve my time in the Senate these coming two days and in three days, I will go and bury him.

“It is so painful to just spare a murderer who does not even show any remorse to a helpless young lady on the streets who just knocked off from work.”

Senator Christopher Mutsvangwa used Mnangagwa’s case to justify the death penalty abolition.

“10 years on death row. This is a case study at a personal level of somebody who faced the prospect of death at the hands of the State.

“I support the abolition of the death penalty because our criminal justice system in this country and beyond is not 100% effective,” he said.

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