Death Penalty News

Responding to an announcement by Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday 23 December 2022, that he had assented to a law banning the death penalty and the offence of criminal defamation of the president, Tigere Chagutah Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa said: “Amnesty International welcomes the announcement by President Hichilema that the death penalty has been abolished in Zambia. This is a good and progressive move that shows the country’s commitment to protecting the right to life.

The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal abolished the death penalty in April, the most notable decision against capital punishment since the South African Constitutional Court found the penalty unconstitutional in 1995 . The Malawian decision is significant because Malawi’s constitution specifically provides for the death penalty (in Article 16), unlike the unqualified right to life in the South African constitution . The Malawian decision ended years of confusion over the status of the remaining 37 prisoners on death row. Nearly 15 years ago, the Malawi High Court abolished the mandatory death penalty for murder . It had found that an automatic death sentence did not sufficiently individualise sentencing and, therefore, was cruel and degrading punishment. But, the ruling was not clearly retroactive. Many defendants were still appealing their mandatory death sentences or had them commuted to life imprisonment without ever having a sentencing hearing. This “grey area” led to the latest c...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased this year, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Monday. Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely “in small cells between the two countries.” He said the Islamic State extremist group — also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS — has regrouped and its activity has increased not only in conflict zones like Iraq and Syria but also in some regional affiliates. “However, in non-conflict zones, the threat appears to have decreased in the short term,” he said. “Measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns and restrictions on movement, seem to have reduced the risk of terrorist attacks in many countries.” Nonetheless, Voronkov said, “there is a continued trend of attacks by individuals inspired online and acting alone o...

The high court in Botswana rejected laws that could land couples in jail for up to seven years for being in a same-sex relationship. BBC News reports that the court said it was unconstitutional to punish people for their sexual preference. Judge Elburu added that laws banning gay sex are “discriminatory” and that, “Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one’s personality.” The ruling marks a significant step for gay rights in Africa as same-sex relations can be punishable by death in northern Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania.  RELATED | Anti-gay laws widespread in Africa despite gains Tanzanian laws also punish homosexuality with a life sentence. Homosexuality in Botswana was outlawed under the country’s penal code in 1965.  Angola, Mozambique, and Seychelles are some of the countries that have changed their laws on same-sex partnerships, allowing for freedom of rights. Source: thehollywoodunlocke...

The death penalty is on the books, under sharia, in Mauritania, Sudan and northern Nigeria, although there have been no known executions in recent times. JOHANNESBURG – More than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have anti-homosexuality laws, although others have moved towards legal tolerance, watchdogs say. Twenty-eight out of 49 countries have laws penalising same-sex relationships, according to Neela Ghoshal, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) specialist in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. The death penalty is on the books, under sharia, in Mauritania, Sudan and northern Nigeria, although there have been no known executions in recent times. In southern Somalia, gay men are believed to have been put to death in the territory ruled by the Al Shabaab jihadist group. However, Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles have scrapped anti-gay laws in recent years. Last month, Kenya's high court caused widespread dismay when it refused to scrap laws c...

The High Court in Botswana on Thursday started hearing an application seeking to decriminalize homosexuality, in a landmark case for Africa’s legal response to same-sex relationships. Botswana is touted as one of Africa’s most democratic nations, yet homosexuality is outlawed under the country’s penal code of 1965. An unnamed applicant is challenging two sections of that code under which offenders face a jail sentence of up to seven years. “These sections… limit me to interact with others who identify in the same way for fear of imprisonment,” said the applicant in documents read by lawyer Gosego Lekgowe in the High Court in Gaborone. “We are not looking for people to agree with homosexuality but to be tolerant,” said the applicant identified by their initials LM. Scrapping the relevant laws would help gays and lesbians to more easily access health care and treatment, and “will also affirm basic human rights and the diversity of the Botswana nation”, said the arg...

Zambia last executed someone in 1997, and neighboring countries have long outlawed capital punishment. Even as courts continue to condemn convicts to death row, many organizations are asking Zambians: Isn’t it time to abolish the death penalty? LUSAKA, ZAMBIA — On January 24, 1997, Frederick Chiluba, then the president of Zambia, pardoned 600 inmates from a federal prison. On the same day, eight prisoners were hung. Seven had been convicted of murder, and one had been convicted of both murder and armed robbery. Christopher Siame, a murder convict formerly on death row, says he’ll never forget how he felt at the time. “I went into prison shortly after the 1997 execution,” recounts Siame, whose sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2008 and who later became a free man thanks to a presidential pardon. “It was horrifying to hear the cells being opened in the condemned section. We thought we were next to be hanged,” he says nervously. The execution of the eight i...

Although the death penalty was abolished in Mozambique in 1990, a Community Court in the central province of Manica sentenced a man to be beaten to death for the alleged theft of an ox-cart. To make matters even worse, the court took advice, not from any lawyer or other person recognised under Mozambican law, but from a witch-doctor. According to a report on Radio Mozambique on Thursday, the Community Court in Chirere locality, in the Manica district of Mossurize, after a divining session organised by the witch-doctor, ordered the suspect to be tied to a tree and beaten. He was thrashed until his back was broken - which the Radio described as the cause of death. When the complaint about the stolen cart was made, the court did not seek any assistance from the police. Instead, with the full backing of the head of the Chirere locality, Shupai Samissone, they asked the witch-doctor to cast a spell to find who was guilty. When news of this gruesome execution reached the Mossurize distri...

The Mozambican Human Rights League (LDH) has called on the government to take "immediate measures" to prevent the execution of 6 Mozambicans sentenced to death in the neighbouring Malawi. The 6 were tried and sentenced to death, accused of murder. They are being held at the maximum security jail in Zomba. An LDH press release, received by AIM on Thursday, says that by sentencing these Mozambicans to death, Malawi is violating international conventions to which it is a signatory. According to the LDH, under article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, ratified by Malawi in 1965, and by Mozambique in 1980, the Malawian authorities should "immediately" inform Mozambique about any detention of a Mozambican citizen. This would allow the Mozambican authorities to provide adequate legal assistance to the detainees and guarantee their right to defence in a regular and fair trial. However, the Mozambican authorities were not informed that Mozambican citizens...