Rights groups are pressing Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa to sign a landmark bill abolishing the death penalty after its historic approval by the senate on Thursday, following earlier passage by the lower house of parliament.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi, confirmed the president’s long-standing opposition to capital punishment in an interview with newsmen.
Mnangagwa, who has refused to sign death warrants since assuming office in 2017, is expected to welcome the bill.
“He is not an advocate of the death penalty,” Ziyambi said. “The senate’s passage of this bill ahead of Christmas is like an early Christmas present for him. He has always maintained, ‘We can’t do this.’ That’s why I believe he will appreciate the work done by both houses.”
Human rights advocates, including Amnesty International Zimbabwe, are now urging Mnangagwa to finalize the process by signing the bill into law.
“Amnesty International commends the progressive legislative efforts to abolish the death penalty,” said Lucia Masuka, the organization’s head in Zimbabwe. “We urge the president to sign this historic bill without delay and commute all death sentences to prison terms.
The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment and has no place in our world.”
While Mnangagwa has previously declined to sign some bills passed by parliament, Ziyambi expressed confidence this would not be the case.
“How could I call it an early Christmas present if he doesn’t want to sign it?” Ziyambi said. “He has personally experienced the trauma of being on death row and was spared only by a technicality. He is ready to sign this bill immediately.”
