Zimbabwe has abolished the death penalty, a widely expected move in a country that last carried out the punishment nearly two decades ago. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who once faced the death penalty himself in the 1960s during the war of independence, approved the law this week after a bill passed through Parliament. Zimbabwe has about 60 prisoners on death row, and the new law spares them. The country last executed someone in 2005, partly because at one point no one was willing to take up the job of state executioner. Amnesty International on Tuesday described the law as a beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region." Other African countries such as Kenya, Liberia and Ghana have recently taken positive steps towards abolishing the death penalty but are yet to put it into law, according to the human rights group, which campaigns against the death penalty. Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe's leader since 2017, has publicly spoken of his opposition to capital punishment. He has
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa was on Saturday re-elected for a second and final term in an election marred by widespread allegations that the governing party, ZANU-PF had committed fraud
Zimbabwe's president has received his first shot of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, a move the government hopes will encourage more people to seek the Chinese vaccines
Mnangagwa won 50.8% of the vote, ahead of Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC party on 44.3%
The head of Zimbabwe's air force, Perence Shiri, was named the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.