A lawmaker has said the country is strongly committed to protecting human rights, contrary to the claims of its detractors
The recent abolition of capital punishment is proof that Zimbabwe prioritizes human rights, MP Shacky Timburwa has told RT. The lawmaker suggested that world powers such as the US are happy to impose sanctions, citing supposed violations, despite their own track record being far from impeccable.
On December 31, 2024, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Act into law, following its passage by the Senate.
Speaking to RT on Friday, Timburwa called it a testament to Zimbabwe’s commitment to “doing everything in [its] power to respect the human rights, despite how people try to portray Zimbabwe as a country that is not respecting the rule of law, that is not respecting the human rights.” According to the MP from the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party, there are countries that “portray themselves as the perfect examples of respecting human rights” and readily impose sanctions on other nations, citing purported violations. However, the lawmaker said the US itself is not beyond reproach, as it has many states that still carry out capital punishment.
Washington would be wise to “learn from other countries that advocate the protecting of the human rights,” Timburwa suggested.
The lawmaker mentioned that “we are being led by a president who was once arrested in the 1950’s-1960’s, and he was sentenced to death.” Mnangagwa was given the sentence by British colonial authorities in 1965 for allegedly bombing a train during the independence struggle.
“Since he was inaugurated into power in 2017, he’s been an advocate of trying to find a way of abolishing or getting rid of this particular law,” Timburwa explained.
According to official figures, the African nation has put 79 people to death since gaining independence in 1980, with the last execution carried out in 2005. Since then, a de facto moratorium has been in place.
Timburwa told RT that there are approximately 60 inmates on death row at present, with judges now expected to commute their sentences. The lawmaker stressed that the new legislation allows for the reinstatement of the death penalty in case of a public emergency. Timburwa argued that the provision “is important simply because there are people who can commit treasonous activities like acts of terrorism.”
According to The Death Penalty Project, a London-based legal action charity, Zimbabwe is the 30th country in Africa to abolish the death penalty, with 18 more having a de facto moratorium in place.
