South Africa
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National...
- News items in the archive
- 202
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
South Africa is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 202 news items on South Africa, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- MARCH 23, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
"As the April elections loom, marking 10 years of democracy,...
"As the April elections loom, marking 10 years of democracy, several political parties are voicing support for the death penalty as a way of reducing crime in a fresh bid to win votes
- MARCH 16, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The death sentence would have been a more appropriate...
The death sentence would have been a more appropriate sentence for the two Sizzlers killers, the New National Party said
- MARCH 10, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Democratic Alliance slammed Independent Democrats...
The Democratic Alliance slammed Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille's reaction to its leader's stance on the death penalty, describing her actions as a "flip-flop and "exposing her as the hypocrite she is"
- MARCH 4, 2004South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa's New National Party criticised Democratic...
South Africa's New National Party criticised Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon for his latest stance on the death penalty, saying his opportunism knew no end
- DECEMBER 18, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
"The South African government joins the international...
"The South African government joins the international community in expressing its rejection of calls for the execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in line with dictates of our own constitution," a South African foreign ministry statement said
- NOVEMBER 13, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma ruled out...
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma ruled out testing public opinion on the death penalty as part of the 2004 general elections
- AUGUST 24, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The savage rape and murder of three generations of...
The savage rape and murder of three generations of a family during a carjacking in which a baby was executed in front of her mother has led to widespread calls for the return of the death penalty in South Africa, the Sunday Telegraph reported
- AUGUST 6, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Pieter Mulder, leader of Freedom Front (FF), a small...
Pieter Mulder, leader of Freedom Front (FF), a small South African right wing political party, said in a statement that his party would propose a motion calling for a referendum on whether the death penalty should be reinstated
- JULY 18, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been...
Lehlohonolo Kobedi, a South African man who had been on death row in Botswana for five years, was executed at Gaborone Central Prison, SABC news reported
- JUNE 8, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
All Africa reported that more than 200 inmates of South...
All Africa reported that more than 200 inmates of South Africa's prisons still had the status of Death Row prisoners even though the African Constitutional Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional on June 6, 1995
- APRIL 24, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa was a cosponsor and voted in favour of...
South Africa was a cosponsor and voted in favour of the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva
- MARCH 15, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Former Western Cape premier Gerald Morkel called for...
Former Western Cape premier Gerald Morkel called for the reintroduction of the death penalty whilst attending the funeral of nine-year-old Miquela Appollis, slain by gangster crossfire near her home in Steenberg
- JANUARY 1, 2003South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa, throughout four decades of institutionalized...
South Africa, throughout four decades of institutionalized racial discrimination, South Africa became one of the world's leading execution centers
- NOVEMBER 25, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Inkatha Freedom Party called on the government...
The Inkatha Freedom Party called on the government to conduct a referendum to determine whether people want a reinstatement of the death penalty in South Africa
- NOVEMBER 12, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa is refusing to extradite the last fugitive...
South Africa is refusing to extradite the last fugitive Patty Hearst kidnapper - unless the US guarantees he will not be executed
- NOVEMBER 9, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
A High Court judge in Mpumalanga province, South Africa,...
A High Court judge in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, called on the Constitutional Court to review the abolition of the death penalty, saying violence was out of control, politicians did nothing but talk, and jail terms were simply not a deterrent
- NOVEMBER 5, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The SA Human Rights Commission released its report...
The SA Human Rights Commission released its report on prisoners still on death row despite the abolition of the death penalty seven years ago
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Pan Africanist Congress general secretary Thami ka...
Pan Africanist Congress general secretary Thami ka Plaatje called for the death penalty for suspects in the Soweto bombings case
- OCTOBER 18, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Less than a day after being informed she would not...
Less than a day after being informed she would not be participating in the Miss World pageant in Nigeria, Miss South Africa Vanessa Carreira said she was "honoured" to be taking a stand against the abuse of women in that country
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The African National Congress (ANC) called on South...
The African National Congress (ANC) called on South African president Thabo Mbeki to urge his Nigerian counterpart to prevent the execution of Amina Lawal, who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The South African law society (LSSA) called for the...
The South African law society (LSSA) called for the Nigerian government to set aside the ruling of the Sharia court that sentenced Amina Lawal to death by stoning for having a baby out of wedlock
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) appealed to...
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) appealed to the Nigerian government to set aside the ruling of the Sharia Court that sentenced Amina Lawal to death by stoning for having had a baby outside wedlock
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa was totally opposed to the death by stoning...
South Africa was totally opposed to the death by stoning sentence imposed on a Nigerian woman but an Islamic Court, but the issue should be seen in the broader Nigerian context, President Thabo Mbeki said in reply to Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon d
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South African groups urged the boycott of the Miss...
South African groups urged the boycott of the Miss World contest due to be held in Nigeria in November
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Inkatha Freedom Party, expressing outrage about...
The Inkatha Freedom Party, expressing outrage about yet another alleged rape of a child, called for a referendum on the return of the death penalty
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa supported the nomination of Libya to chair...
South Africa supported the nomination of Libya to chair the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma told Parliament
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Crowds gathered outside the Magistrate's Court in the...
Crowds gathered outside the Magistrate's Court in the South African town of Newcastle called for the death penalty for four people arrested in connection with the murder of a pastor
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Six years after the abolishment of the death penalty...
Six years after the abolishment of the death penalty in South Africa, hundreds of former death row prisoners are still awaiting their fate as the department of justice drags its feet on reviewing their sentences
- AUGUST 19, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) political party...
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) political party called for the reinstatement of the death penalty for murder in its electoral manifesto for the 2004 general elections in South Africa
- AUGUST 15, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Crime is by no means a threat to South Africa, said...
Crime is by no means a threat to South Africa, said Justice and Constitutional Development minister Penuell Maduna in Pretoria while announcing the forthcoming Global Judges Symposium on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg on August 18