Tanzania
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist de facto
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Murder and treason are capital crimes
- News items in the archive
- 153
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Tanzania is classified as Abolitionist de facto 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 153 news items on Tanzania, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- OCTOBER 15, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The Tanzanian High Court sentenced to death two people...
The Tanzanian High Court sentenced to death two people for murdering their wives
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
East Africa's prison bosses said the death penalty...
East Africa's prison bosses said the death penalty was outdated and should be scrapped, adding that it was not a solution in the rehabilitation of prisoners
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The heads of prisons departments in three East African...
The heads of prisons departments in three East African countries, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, have urged authorities in the region to abolish the death sentence
- JULY 9, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The Tanzanian government said there are no plans whatsoever...
The Tanzanian government said there are no plans whatsoever to repeal the death penalty in the country
- JUNE 20, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Russian Ambassador to Tanzania Doku Zavgayev expressed...
Russian Ambassador to Tanzania Doku Zavgayev expressed certainty that two Russian citizens, Ivan Ochirov and Dmitry Kosyakov, sentenced to death for killing in 1997 a Russian teenager, fourteen-year-old Alexei Sotnikov, on Zanzibar (in the composition of
- JUNE 7, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The authorities of Zanzibar Island assured Russian...
The authorities of Zanzibar Island assured Russian Ambassador to Tanzania Doku Zavgayev that "two citizens of Russia sentenced to death will not be executed
- JUNE 5, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The death sentences given to two young Russians on...
The death sentences given to two young Russians on the island of Zanzibar (part of Tanzania) will not be carried out because there is a moratorium on the death penalty in this African state, the Russian ambassador to Tanzania Doku Zavgayev told ITAR-TASS
- JUNE 5, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Russia has appealed to Zanzibar to review a death sentence...
Russia has appealed to Zanzibar to review a death sentence passed by the Court of Appeal to its two citizens early in 2002 after being convicted of murdering a compatriot
- APRIL 23, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
An appeals court in Zanzibar, Tanzania, sentenced two...
An appeals court in Zanzibar, Tanzania, sentenced two Russians to the death penalty
- APRIL 10, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
One hundred people convicted of murder have had their...
One hundred people convicted of murder have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment by Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, Home Affairs Minister Mohammed Seif Khatib said
- JANUARY 30, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International (AI) urged the Commission of...
Amnesty International (AI) urged the Commission of inquiry, formed by Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa to investigate the 2001 Zanzibar killings, to carry out its activities independently
- JANUARY 1, 2002TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The last execution was in 1994
The last execution was in 1994
- DECEMBER 11, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
A Sheffield legal team began frantic attempt to halt...
A Sheffield legal team began frantic attempt to halt a deportation order against an illegal immigrant who claims he could face execution in his African homeland
- OCTOBER 18, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, a Tanzanian, was sentenced...
Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, a Tanzanian, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for having a direct role in the 1998 bombing of the U
- OCTOBER 4, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The high court in Tanzania 's northern town of Moshi...
The high court in Tanzania 's northern town of Moshi ordered the government to award 300 million Tanzanian shillings ( 337,078 U
- JULY 10, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
A Federal jury in New York sentenced Tanzanian Khalfan...
A Federal jury in New York sentenced Tanzanian Khalfan Khamis Mohamed to life without parole for the August 1998 bombing of the U
- MARCH 29, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Two Tanzanians accused of robbing 29 American tourists...
Two Tanzanians accused of robbing 29 American tourists in Kenya's Masai Mara game park were sentenced to hang after pleading guilty to the charges
- JANUARY 27, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The chairman of Tanzania's main opposition Party, Ibrahim...
The chairman of Tanzania's main opposition Party, Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front said at least 280 people had been killed in violence on Zanzibar on January 26 and 27
- JANUARY 1, 2001TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
No executions have been carried out since 1994
No executions have been carried out since 1994
- DECEMBER 17, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Suspected US embassy bomber Khalfan Khamis Mohamed...
Suspected US embassy bomber Khalfan Khamis Mohamed won his bid in the Cape High Court to secure information relating to his arrest, detention and deportation from South Africa to the US
- NOVEMBER 12, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
An unprecedented victory for the Civic United Front...
An unprecedented victory for the Civic United Front (CUF) occurred when the Zanzibar government unexpectedly withdrew a treason charge against 18 members of the opposition party
- AUGUST 2, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Tanzania's opposition party, the Civic United Front,...
Tanzania's opposition party, the Civic United Front, nominated five partisans facing a mandatory death penalty if found guilty of treason to contest in the 29th October general elections for parliamentary seats in the semi-autonomous state of Zanzibar
- JUNE 23, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
United States prosecutors were given permission by the U
United States prosecutors were given permission by the U
- MAY 11, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno authorised federal...
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno authorised federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, one of the terrorists involved in the bombings of the U
- MARCH 21, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
The government of Tanzania deported an Egyptian, Mustafa...
The government of Tanzania deported an Egyptian, Mustafa Mohamoud Ahmed, one of the suspects of the US Embassy bombing in Dar Es Salaam in 1998 where 11 people were killed and more than 70 injured
- JANUARY 1, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
Murder and treason are capital crimes
Murder and treason are capital crimes
- JANUARY 1, 2000TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
No executions have been carried out since 1994
No executions have been carried out since 1994
- DECEMBER 1, 1999TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
In December, the Director of Criminal Investigations...
In December, the Director of Criminal Investigations Commissioner of Police, Adadi Rajabu, released names of the 60 Tanzanians who were in foreign police custody after they were found guilty of being involved in illicit drug trafficking
- NOVEMBER 11, 1999TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
On November 11, she further said that until States...
On November 11, she further said that until States were convinced of the need for such legislation, other countries that had adopted the death penalty should not be seen as coercing others to do their bidding
- NOVEMBER 5, 1999TanzaniaDEATH PENALTY
On November 5, Counselor Christine Kapalata, speaking...
On November 5, Counselor Christine Kapalata, speaking at the Third Committee of the General Assembly, said international law did not prohibit the imposition of the death penalty, and States had the sovereign right to impose the judicial systems they desir