The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are murder, rape, treason, armed robbery and burglary with aggravating circumstances.

The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are murder, rape, treason, armed robbery and burglary with aggravating circumstances.
After three decades of dictatorial rule by Kamuzu Banda, Bakili Muluzi won the first multiparty election in 1994. He was credited for improving Malawi’s human rights record and had pledged to never sign a death warrant. His successor, Bingu wa Mutharika - endorsed by Muluzi and in power since May 2004 - has not changed the practice.
On July 23, 1997, Muluzi had commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. On April 9, 2004 he commuted the death sentences of 79 prisoners and freed 320 others in a gesture to coincide with Easter. Around 20 prisoners remained on death row, including Malawian opposition lawmaker Nasser Kara, convicted earlier in 2004 on a charge of murder. Malawi's prisons are congested and a high court judge once described their conditions as "hell on earth." At least 22 people were sentenced to death in 2002. The last execution took place in 1992.