HARARE, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe moved to abolish the death penalty on Tuesday, as the government backed legislation to do away with capital punishment nearly two decades after the last execution.
"Cabinet approved the
abolition of the death penalty," Information Minister Jenfan Muswere said
in a statement, adding that after holding countrywide consultations, the
government decided to support a new law to end the practice.
"In view of the need to
retain the deterrent element in sentencing murderers, it is expected that the
new law will impose lengthy sentences without violating the right to
life," said Muswere.
In the case of murders
involving "aggravating circumstances," convicts could face "life
sentences," he added.
The southern African country
has not had a hangman since 2005, but men found guilty of aggravated murder can
still be sentenced to death. Dozens of convicts are currently on death row.
It was not immediately clear
when parliament, where the ruling ZANU-PF party holds a large majority, will
vote on the legislation.
According to official figures,
79 people have been executed in Zimbabwe since the country's independence from
British colonial rule in 1980.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa,
81, has been a vocal opponent of capital punishment since he was sentenced to
death in the 1960s for blowing up a train during the guerrilla war for
independence. The sentence was later commuted.
In 2022, some 87 countries
still had the death penalty, but only 52 imposed death sentences and about 20
executed them, according to Amnesty International.
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