Zimbabwe has taken a historic step by officially abolishing the death penalty after President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Act into law on Tuesday.

The legislation, published in the Government Gazette, commutes all existing death sentences to jail terms and prohibits courts from imposing capital punishment for any crime.

The abolition comes after a de facto moratorium on executions in the southern African nation since 2005. However, courts had continued to hand down death sentences for crimes such as murder, treason, and terrorism. With the new law in effect, approximately 60 prisoners currently on death row will have their sentences reviewed and converted to jail time.

A clause in the Act, however, allows for the suspension of the abolition during a state of emergency, a provision Amnesty International has urged authorities to remove.

Amnesty International welcomed the development as an "historic moment," calling on Zimbabwe to eliminate any remaining provisions that could permit the reinstatement of the death penalty. "We urge the authorities to swiftly move to a full abolition of the death penalty," the organization said in a statement.

Local media outlets reported earlier this year that the country had 63 death row inmates. These individuals are expected to return to court for resentencing under the new law.

Zimbabwe joins a growing list of African nations abolishing capital punishment. Twenty-four countries in sub-Saharan Africa have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, with two more having abolished it for ordinary crimes only.

Amnesty noted that of the 16 countries globally known to have carried out executions in 2023, only Somalia was in sub-Saharan Africa.

President Mnangagwa has been a long-time opponent of the death penalty, a stance shaped by personal experience. During Zimbabwe's guerrilla war for independence, he was sentenced to death for blowing up a train. His sentence was later commuted, fueling his advocacy against capital punishment.

The abolition of the death penalty marks a significant milestone in Zimbabwe's human rights journey, signaling a commitment to reform and aligning the nation with a broader global movement against capital punishment. (ILKHA)