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Zimbabwe pardon 10 death row inmates

by Staff reporter
04 Nov 2016 at 05:37hrs | Views

ZIMBABWE last week pardoned 10 inmates who were on the death row after they requested for Presidential clemency while the remaining 80 will also survive the gallows if Government resolves to completely abolish capital punishment for all crimes, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

He said this during Zimbabwe's presentation of its human rights national report under the auspices of the Universal Periodic Review on Wednesday at the United Nations Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mnangagwa, who is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, was responding to several calls from various countries who implored Zimbabwe to completely abolish the death penalty.

But VP Mnangagwa said while the country accepted the recommendation to abolish the death penalty at the last UPR in 2012, the majority of Zimbabweans who participated during the Constitution-making process said they wanted it retained.

He said Government was, however, undertaking nationwide public awareness campaigns to conscientise Zimbabweans on the effects of the death penalty.

Mnangagwa also dismissed claims by some countries that Zimbabwe had political prisoners and detainees, saying that was not correct.

The Vice President said the new constitution only imposed the death penalty on males aged between 21 and 70 years who are convicted of aggravated murder compared to the previous one that had a wider range of offences under, which one could be sentenced to death regardless of gender.

But representatives from several countries said it was critical that the country completely abolish capital punishment.

Source - online