Zimbabwe: One of the World's Most Homophobic Dictators Has Died

One of the world’s most virulently anti-LGBTQ+ figures has died.

Robert Mugabe, the former dictator of Zimbabwe, has reportedly passed away at the age of 95 at a hospital in Singapore, where he had been receiving treatment for the past five months. Mugabe was deposed in 2017 after holding power for 37 years: first as the prime minister, then as president.

Although he planned to cling to his office until death, claiming that only God had the authority to remove him, Mugabe was ousted in a military coup.

Mugabe will not be missed by Zimbabwe’s LGBTQ+ community. The virulently homophobic leader has claimed over the years that same-sex attractions are the result of “madness” and “insanity,” that “God destroyed the Earth” because of marriage equality, that LGBTQ+ people are “worse than pigs and dogs” and “inhuman,” and that anyone accused of homosexuality should “rot in jail.”

As president, Mugabe also fought to block any advances in LGBTQ+ rights in Africa. In 2006, Zimbabwe passed an anti-sodomy law banning any “act involving contact between two males that would be regarded by a reasonable person as an indecent act.”

In effect, the law banned almost any expression of intimacy between people of the same sex. Even being caught hugging or kissing could result in a sentence of up to three years behind bars. While Zimbabwe does not mandate the death penalty for homosexuality, Mugabe has called for LGBTQ+ people to be beheaded.

Zimbabwe’s Gay and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) claimed his comments had “created a climate of intolerance, fear, coercion, intimidation and acts of vengeance directed at gays and lesbians” in a 2013 complaint against Mugabe, blaming him for an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes. The advocacy group was reportedly attacked in 2014 when a group of men targeted its end-of-the-year celebration.

Mugabe’s death was commemorated on Friday by Zimbabwe’s current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who called him an “an icon of liberation” in a tweet. He expressed “utmost sadness” at his predecessor’s passing.

Source: out.com, Nico Lang, September 6, 2019

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Death penalty options expanded in proposed Arizona bills

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers advanced proposals on Feb. 19, 2026, that would expand execution options for death row inmates to include firing squads and lethal gas, amid ongoing challenges with lethal injection and concerns over carrying out capital sentences. The measures, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, cleared a Senate committee with a party-line vote. They aim to give condemned inmates more choices while mandating firing squad executions for those convicted of murdering law enforcement officers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1049 proposes a constitutional amendment that Arizona voters would decide in November. If approved, it would allow defendants sentenced to death to select from three methods: firing squad, lethal injection (intravenous administration of lethal substances) or lethal gas. Lethal injection would remain the default if no choice is made.

Japan | High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder

The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed. The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. In what's known as the Iizuka incident, despite the assertion of his innocence, Michitoshi Kuma's death sentence became final in 2006 based on DNA test results and eyewitness accounts. He was executed at the age of 70 in 2008. The defendant's side submitted in the second round of its retrial request a woman's testimony as new evidence.

Sudanese Courts Sentence 2 Women to Death by Stoning for Adultery Despite International Obligations

Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning in separate cases in Sudan, raising serious concerns about Sudan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

India | POCSO Court awards death penalty to UP couple for sexual exploitation of 33 children

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on Friday sentenced a former Junior Engineer (JE) of the Irrigation Department and his wife to death for the sexual exploitation of 33 minor boys — some as young as three — over a decade, officials said. The POCSO court termed the crimes as “rarest of rare” and held Ram Bhawan and his wife Durgawati guilty of systematically abusing children between 2010 and 2020 and producing child sexual abuse material. Convicting the duo under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the court sentenced them to death for offences including aggravated penetrative sexual assault, using a child for pornographic purposes, storage of pornographic material involving children, and abetment and criminal conspiracy, they said.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Iran | Man Hanged for Murder After Plaintiff Changed Their Mind at Last Minute

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 February 2026: Reza Karami, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Doroud Prison. The plaintiffs in the case had agreed to accept diya (blood money) in lieu of execution but changed their minds at the last minute. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Doroud Prison, Lorestan province, on 14 February 2026. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Reza Karami who was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Alabama provides the greatest arguments against the death penalty

I have seen three executions. I hope I never see a fourth. Capital punishment is violence. But the state does all it can to conceal that fact. The viewing areas outside the death chamber are still and silent. Bright light floods the small room where people die. The warden pronouncing the sentence speaks in clipped, measured tones, saying no more than needed. You’re expected to view the act as a bloodless execution of justice.

Louisiana Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Targeted with Premature Execution Warrants

When Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill took office in January 2024, they moved aggressively to restart executions in the state. Gov. Landry signed bills that authorized nitrogen suffocation and electrocution as execution methods, increased his own power over the state capital defense system, and limited post-conviction appeals , while AG Murrill moved to take over capital appeal challenges from local district attorneys. In March 2025, the state conducted its first execution in 15 years.

Singapore executes 33-year-old Malaysian drug trafficker

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018. A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities. Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug. The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog