Zimbabwe’s cabinet has decided to abolish the death penalty for murder convictions, marking a significant shift nearly two decades after the country’s last execution.
On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the Memorandum on the Private Member’s Death Penalty, endorsing a private member’s bill introduced in the National Assembly last year to end the death penalty, a legacy of British colonial rule.
“To maintain the deterrent effect of sentencing for murderers, it is anticipated that the new law will impose lengthy prison terms without violating the right to life,” the cabinet stated. “The presence of aggravating circumstances may result in life imprisonment.”
Zimbabwe’s most recent execution took place in 2005. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who himself faced the death penalty during the struggle for independence against British rule, has been advocating for an end to capital punishment.
