Zimbabwe’s cabinet approved legislation on Tuesday to abolish the death penalty, nearly two decades since the country’s last execution. The proposed bill to end capital punishment will now go before parliament, where the ruling ZANU-PF party holds a substantial majority.
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Information Minister Jenfan Muswere announced the decision following nationwide consultations. The new law will eliminate the death penalty for murder convictions, instead allowing life sentences in extreme cases to help deter serious crimes.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been an outspoken opponent of executions since narrowly avoiding one. Sentenced to death in 1965 for bombing a train during the independence struggle, his punishment was reduced thanks to his underage status.
Over 75 people were executed in the first 23 years after Zimbabwe’s 1980 liberation. But without an official hangman since its last hanging in 2005, dozens have remained on death row absent implementation.
Muswere stressed the need for alternative harsh sentencing without “violating the right to life.” The proposed shift aligns with global trends, as two-thirds of countries have abolished capital punishment in law or practice.
According to rights group Amnesty International, confirmed executions occurred last year in only 14 nations. Over 15 African countries maintain the death penalty but have not carried one out in over a decade.
For Zimbabwe, the move culminates in growing opposition to a colonial-era policy at odds with modern human rights norms. It follows repeated calls against the practice by domestic civic groups.
Assuming legislative passage, the country will join over 25 African nations that have formally forbidden state executions. The bill offers hope of commuted sentences for its 62 remaining death row convicts after lives spent awaiting unlikely punishment.
While a positive step, long-term progress could require further criminal justice reforms and addressing root inequities. With strict penalties still possible under the new legislation, Zimbabwe must ensure prisoners’ rehabilitation and social integration once their terms end.
But formally renouncing the harshest sentences represents a meaningful change for a nation shaped by oppression. The cabinet decision shows that even harsh justice systems can evolve with ethical advances. For death penalty abolitionists, Zimbabwe’s potential reform remains one to celebrate.
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