The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, has a long and complex history in Zimbabwe. Traditionally, the Shona people did not impose the death penalty due to their belief in “Ngozi,” where the spirit of the deceased would torment the living. In pre-colonial times Ndebele peoples allowed the death penalty for serious crimes like murder, but often opted for fines or corporal punishment instead.
The death penalty was introduced by white settlers and Louis Andres who was executed for taking the life of a fellow traveller was its first victim on 17th April 1893. Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi were its more popular pre liberation victims being hanged for resisting colonial rule.
Post Independence you had to be a man between the ages of 21 and 70 to be eligible for the penalty however ultimately discretion lay with the courts on whether to impose or waive the death penalty.
Although the High Court of Zimbawe was still sentencing people to death, no executions had been carried out since July 2005. Prisoners on death row were kept in solitary confinement with limited opportunities for exercise and reading.
Public opinion however had shifted significantly, with 82% of Zimbabweans surveyed in 2018 supporting abolition, compared to 57% in favour of retention in 1999. Traditional leaders have also urged the government to abolish the death penalty, citing its incompatibility with African culture and its colonial origins.
In December 2024, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed Act No 4 of 24 the Death Penalty Abolition Act [Chapter 9:26] into law, effectively abolishing capital punishment. This move aligns Zimbabwe with international human rights standards and places it among the growing number of African countries that have abolished the death penalty.