LILONGWE, Malawi

Zimbabwe has announced that it has abolished death penalty in its statues nearly 20 years after it carried out its last execution, a top government official said on Tuesday.

Martin Rushwaya, the chief secretary to the Cabinet, said in a government decree that the President Emerson M’nangagwa approved the law this week after the bill had gone through the National Assembly.

With the passing of the Death Penalty Abolition Act 2024, the Southern African nation has become the 127th country in the world to abolish death penalty. The country has about 60 prisoners currently on death row.

M’nangagwa once faced death penalty in the 1960s during the war of liberation known as “Chimurenga.”

Lucia Masuka, the executive director of Amnesty International in the country, applauded Zimbabwe’s decision to abolish the death penalty.

“This is not just great progress for Zimbabwe, it’s also a beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region and major milestone in the global collective pursuit for an end to this ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” Masuka said in a statement.

About 24 African countries have fully abolished the death penalty, according to Amnesty International.