Reportedly, there are 62 murderers on the death row in Zimbabwe. If the Death Abolition Bill will be passed, their death penalty will be commuted to life in prison.
Among those who will benefit from the proposed abolishment of the death penalty are the two convicted killers of a 7-year old boy, Tapiwa Makore, who was murdered for ritualistic purposes in 2020, a ritual murder which upset the entire nation. The boy was murdered by one of his uncles, Tapiwa Makore (60), and an accomplice, Tafadzwa Shamba (4), who were found guilty of the brutal murder and sentenced to death in 2023.
Last month Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s declared an amnesty by announcing his decision to commute the death sentences of prisoners at Zimbabwe’s maximum prisons to life imprisonment.
The last time that the death penalty was executed in Zimbabwe was in 2005.
(FVDK)
Public hearing dates set for Death Penalty Abolition Bill, week after Mnangagwa “saves” prisoners on roll
Published: May 3, 2024
By: Leopold Muntende
ZIMBABWEANS will, between May 6 and 10, be given an opportunity to share their views on the Death Penalty Abolition Bill in public hearings to be held across the country’s ten provinces.
Although independent of his decision, the hearings follow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent decision to commute the death sentences of prisoners at Zimbabwe’s maximum prisons to life imprisonment in an amnesty announced last month.
According to the government, 62 people were on death row.
In February, Cabinet approved the principles to the Death Penalty Abolition Bill that seek to abolish capital punishment.
Committee on Human Rights have jointly announced a series of public hearings to discuss the death penalty,” said Parliament.
“These hearings aim to engage stakeholders, gather perspectives and guide potential legal reforms regarding three Bills currently before Parliament.”
Although Zimbabwe’s last execution was in 2005, the death sentence has, however, continued to be passed.
The Zimbabwean constitution allows for imposition of the death penalty in cases involving murder committed under aggravating circumstances and only on men between 21 and 70 years of age.
Cabinet’s decision to approve the principles of the Bill provoked discussions online with some arguing capital punishment must be maintained while citing cases such as that of Tapiwa Makore (7) whose head was hacked off by his uncle (Tapiwa Makore Snr) in a ritual killing that shocked the country in 2020.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International however declared the move progressive: “Zimbabwe has taken the right step towards ending this abhorrent and inhuman form of punishment that has no place in our world.”
The public hearings will also discuss the Criminal Law Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons) Bill “which aims to bring the law on sexual offences against minors into line with the Constitution” and the Administration of Estates Amendment Bill, “which seeks to restructure the office of the Master of the High Court.”
The schedule is copied below;
Team A:
- Dates: From May 6 to May 10, 2024
- Locations:
May 6, 2024: Kadoma Rimuka Hall
May 7, 2024: Gweru Mkoba Hall
May 8, 2024: Bulawayo Selborne Hotel
May 9, 2024: Lupane Community Hall
May 10, 2024: Filabusi Avoka
Team B:
- Locations:
May 6, 2924: Tendai Hall, Bindura
May 7, 2024: Stodart Hall, Mbare
May 8, 2024: Mbuya Nehanda Hall, Marondera
May 9, 2024: Dangamvura Beit Hall
May 10, 2024: Masvingo Civic Center Hall, Masvingo
- Time: All meetings start at 10:00 AM
