Amnesty: ED gets thumbs-up

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has been commended by the Amnesty International for his act of clemency after commuting to life imprisonment the death sentences of prisoners who have been on death row for more than 10 years.

Amnesty International is regarded as the largest human rights organisation in the world with more than seven million members.

President Mnangagwa spared prisoners from the hangman’s noose as part of the amnesty granted to 3 000 prisoners on Wednesday last week. The President is known to hold strong sentiments against the death penalty.

In a statement last week, Amnesty International deputy regional director for Southern Africa, Ms Muleya Mwananyanda described the move by the President as “progressive”. Ms Mwananyanda expressed hope that the country would build on the move and ultimately abolish the death penalty. Zimbabwe has not done any executions since 2005.

“President Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken a very progressive step in deciding to spare the prisoners from the hangman’s noose. His action is commendable, but he must build on this positive momentum by ensuring that Zimbabwe abolishes the death penalty completely,” she said.

Amnesty International advocates for the abolishment of the death penalty on the basis that it breaches the right to life and the right to live free from torture. Ms Mwananyanda said President Mnangagwa should issue a moratorium on all executions as the first step towards abolishing the death penalty. She added there is no empirical evidence that the death sentence is a more deterrent punishment than imprisonment.

“Countries around the world, including in subSaharan Africa, are moving away from using the death penalty. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty has a greater deterrent effect on crime than imprisonment. We call on President Mnangagwa to move swiftly to establish an official moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing this cruel and inhuman punishment altogether,” said Ms Mwananyanda.

In pardoning the prisoners, the President invoked provisions of section 112 of the Constitution. The amnesty is President Mnangagwa’s first act of clemency since he was sworn into office in November last year. President Mnangagwa granted amnesty to all women, except those with life sentences, and all juvenile prisoners under the age of 18.

Prisoners with sentences under 36 months who have served a quarter of their term and terminally ill inmates who are unlikely to survive their term were also granted amnesty. Inmates aged 60 and above, who would have served one third of their sentences, were also granted amnesty, with the exception of those sentenced to life imprisonment or death.

All prisoners serving a term of imprisonment at the open prison, as well as prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for stock theft, who would have served one third of their sentence by the gazetted date were pardoned.

Male prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment before 28 February 1998 and female prisoners sentenced for the same on or before 31 December 2010 were also granted amnesty. Physically disabled prisoners, who rely on other persons to be moved around the prison or who make use of their hands to move around the prison, were granted amnesty.

An additional one quarter remission of the remaining effective period of imprisonment was granted to all prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for more than 36 months and have served at least one third of the effective term of imprisonment.