ZIMBABWEAN courts viewed the death penalty and the conditions surrounding it as a human right violation, often commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
This was said by Attorney-General Virginia Mabiza at the United Nation’s Biennial High-Level Panel Discussion on the Judiciary’s Role in Advancing Human Rights.
Mabiza outlined the historical context of the death penalty in Zimbabwe, tracing its roots from the pre-colonial era.
She said significant legislative changes began to reduce the scope of capital punishment after independence in 1980.
Between 1980 and 2005, 105 convicted offenders were sadly executed.
Since 2005, no executions have taken place in Zimbabwe, a trend that Mabhiza attributed to judicial discretion and policy decisions against capital punishment.
“The courts have consistently identified extenuating circumstances to mitigate sentences, thereby avoiding the imposition of the death penalty,” she said in a statement.
According to Mabhiza, the Human Rights Council received her report with enthusiasm as several countries praised Zimbabwe’s commitment to human rights.
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In 2013, Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution that included the Bill of Rights, explicitly exempting women, individuals under 21 and those over 70 from the death penalty.
This marked a pivotal step towards compliance with international human rights standards, she said.
In 2024, the country enacted the Death Penalty Abolition Act [Chapter 9:26], which outlawed the death penalty.
A new provision in the Defence Act introduced by the Death Penalty Abolition Act, 2024, however, allows for the reinstatement of the death penalty when a state of public emergency is declared in terms of section 113 of the Constitution.
At least 59 people were known to be on the death row in Zimbabwe as at the end of 2023.
As of today, 24 African countries have fully abolished the death penalty, including four — Chad, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Zambia — which did so in 2020.
Globally, 113 countries are full abolitionist.
