Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has approved a law that abolishes the death penalty in the southern African state with immediate effect. Mnangagwa’s move comes after Zimbabwe’s parliament voted earlier in December to scrap the death penalty. The human rights organisation labelled the move as great progress for the country, and a major milestone in ending “cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment”. They also described it as a “beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region”.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have accounted for almost 90% of all known executions recorded by Amnesty in 2023. Somalia and the US were the next two countries to follow. The group says it will continue to campaign against the cruel sentence until it is fully abolished.