Zimbabwe
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, rape, aggravated robbery, illegal possession...
- News items in the archive
- 203
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Zimbabwe 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 203 news items on Zimbabwe, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JANUARY 1, 2003ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe has signed but not yet ratified the statutes...
Zimbabwe has signed but not yet ratified the statutes of the International Criminal Court, the first permanent international judicial body capable of trying individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
- JANUARY 1, 2003ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Sixty-nine people were hanged in Zimbabwe between independence...
Sixty-nine people were hanged in Zimbabwe between independence in 1980, when Robert Mugabe was elected president, and 2002, when he was again confirmed to continue his uninterrupted rule of the country
- JANUARY 1, 2003ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The Constitution of Zimbabwe at Chapter 3, section...
The Constitution of Zimbabwe at Chapter 3, section 12, dealing with the protection of right to life states that: "No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which
- JANUARY 1, 2003ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Murder, treason and mutiny
Murder, treason and mutiny
- NOVEMBER 22, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Brian Rushambwa Sango, 27, was sentenced to death for...
Brian Rushambwa Sango, 27, was sentenced to death for murdering his friend's girlfriend, Rosemary Matsika, and her son Takudzwa
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Harare Magistrate's Court granted three Zimbabwean...
Harare Magistrate's Court granted three Zimbabwean opposition leaders bail and adjourned their treason trial to 11 November
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The former Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary...
The former Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, now the Speaker of Parliament, has since independence spoken strongly against capital punishment
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
A white farmer convicted of murder for running over...
A white farmer convicted of murder for running over a black settler occupying part of his land was sentenced to 15 years in prison
- JUNE 27, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
A messenger who murdered his colleague, Ms Karen da...
A messenger who murdered his colleague, Ms Karen da Nobrega, in coldblood at Century Towers in Harare in 2001 to facilitate theft of over $230 000 mostly in foreign currency, was sentenced to death by the High Court
- MAY 31, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Three convicted killers were hanged at Harare Central Prison
Three convicted killers were hanged at Harare Central Prison
- MARCH 22, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai...
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was released on bail after being formally charged with treason over an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe
- MARCH 21, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai...
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was released on bail after being formally charged with treason over an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe
- MARCH 21, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Parliament...
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Parliament a television program used to support the treason claim against Zimbabwe's Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is extremely unconvincing
- MARCH 20, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, and defeated presidential...
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, and defeated presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, was charged formally with treason
- MARCH 12, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
A senior Zimbabwean opposition official said he had...
A senior Zimbabwean opposition official said he had been formally charged with treason for an alleged plot to kill President Robert Mugabe
- FEBRUARY 26, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Two more leading figures in Zimbabwe's opposition party...
Two more leading figures in Zimbabwe's opposition party were charged with treason as President Mugabe stepped up his drive to secure victory in March's election
- FEBRUARY 26, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
"The campaign of the Zimbabwe Association of Crime...
"The campaign of the Zimbabwe Association of Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation (Zacro) for the abolition of the death penalty (it started in 1993 ndr) is continuing and slowly, people are beginning to respond
- FEBRUARY 25, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw led condemnation of...
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw led condemnation of Robert Mugabe after the Zimbabwean president's main rival in the forthcoming election was charged with high treason
- FEBRUARY 25, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader who...
Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader who is standing against President Robert Mugabe in the election on March 9 and 10, was charged with high treason
- JANUARY 23, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe signed into law...
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe signed into law a draconian Bill allowing him to use extreme measures to silence opponents ahead of a crunch presidential ballot in March
- JANUARY 10, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The Zimbabwean parliament passed the Public Order and...
The Zimbabwean parliament passed the Public Order and Security Bill and the General Laws Amendment Bill after a record 17-hour debate over the legislation
- JANUARY 1, 2002ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
After independence, there were nine offences which...
After independence, there were nine offences which attracted the death penalty, but over the years they have been reduced to three
- DECEMBER 26, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said...
Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said that his supporters were being attacked and killed by an unofficial militia established by President Mugabe's government
- DECEMBER 13, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The Financial Gazette described the Public Order and...
The Financial Gazette described the Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) as a "nefarious piece of legislation
- NOVEMBER 22, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Beleaguered Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe was to...
Beleaguered Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe was to introduce the death sentence for anyone convicted of trying to overthrow the government
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
War veterans in Mutare condemned the gruesome killing...
War veterans in Mutare condemned the gruesome killing of Bulawayo war veterans' leader Comrade Cain Nkala, by suspected MDC supporters
- OCTOBER 11, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic Commission for Justice and...
Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace has conducted a prolonged campaign against the death penalty but President Robert Mugabe amended the Constitution to block challenges to hanging of those left languishing on death row
- OCTOBER 9, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The leader of the Zimbabwe National Debate Association,...
The leader of the Zimbabwe National Debate Association, Kurauone Chivhai, urged the President and Cabinet Ministers to abolish the death sentence
- OCTOBER 5, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
Zimbabwe hanged three convicted murderers in the country's...
Zimbabwe hanged three convicted murderers in the country's first executions since 1998 after their appeals were overturned, the state-run Herald newspaper reported
- AUGUST 13, 2001ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The Tangerang District Court in Indonesia sentenced...
The Tangerang District Court in Indonesia sentenced to death Ozias Sibanda, 33, after convicting him of trying to smuggle 850 grams of heroin into the country