Launch of new report showing support for abolition of the death penalty among Zimbabwean opinion leaders

Time to Abolish the Death Penalty in Zimbabwe: Exploring the views of its opinion leaders draws on in-depth interviews with 42 opinion leaders on the death penalty, their knowledge of the criminal justice system, the likelihood of abolition and how that could be achieved.  This research found that 90% of opinion leaders support abolition, in part because they don’t trust the criminal justice system of Zimbabwe to prevent miscarriages of justice, and they saw the death penalty as an abuse of human rights or against their religious beliefs. The majority believe that the death penalty does not deter violent crime but that it does damage the Zimbabwe’s international reputation.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote in his Foreword to the Report:

I believe [the death penalty] to be a flagrant violation of the right to life and dignity. I welcome this report, which shows that almost all Zimbabwean opinion formers are of the same mind.