In January 1997, 8 prisoners were sent to the gallows...

In January 1997, 8 prisoners were sent to the gallows at Mukobeko Prison. This reopened the capital punishment debate, and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has mounted a national campaign for the abolition of the death penalty. In January 1999, ironically, the voice leading the call for the abolition of capital punishment was that of former President Kenneth Kaunda, who signed scores of death warrants during his 28-year reign. Kaunda said that it had "pained him to sign death warrants during his tenure and that he did so with the utmost reluctance."