BY COLUMBUS MAVHUNGA
The international human rights organization Amnesty International says three sub-Saharan African countries considering ending the death penalty should do it now and pave the way for others around the world to follow in their footsteps.
There hasn’t been an execution in Gambia, Kenya or Zimbabwe in over a decade, Amnesty has said, and all three nations have commuted multiple death sentences during that time.
Lucia Masuka, head of Amnesty in Zimbabwe, said most countries in the world are moving away from the death penalty, and she urged African countries to follow suit.
“It’s time for all countries to move away from this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment once and for all,” Masuka said. “Zimbabwe’s president himself was sentenced to death for terrorism, as a young man, due to his involvement in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle. He narrowly avoided execution. He was below the age of 21 at the time, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison instead.
“The president knows what it is like to be facing the death penalty, and he now has the opportunity to ensure that no one else goes through that.”
Addressing Parliament this month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa stuck to his 2017 promise that he would not allow the death penalty to stand in Zimbabwe.
“Parliament has an obligation to expedite the enactment of all bills that, for one reason or another, are outstanding from previous sessions,” he said. “You can carry the burden.” Bills relating to death penalty abolition “should be passed.”