Botswana showing contempt for the right to life - Amnesty International

Pini Bothoko | Tuesday April 11, 2017 16:41

Muchena’s comments appear in Amnesty International Global Report, Death Sentences and Executions 2016.

“In Southern Africa, Botswana was the only country to carry out an execution – the first in the country since 2013. A further 283 people across the region were under sentence of death at the end of 2016, including 157 in Zambia and 97 in Zimbabwe,” Muchena writes.

According to the report, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe were the only countries in Southern Africa who handed down death sentences in 2016 – a total of 110, the overwhelming majority of which (101) were in Zambia.

 “At a time when the number of countries carrying out executions around the world is going down, indicating that the world is moving away from this inhumane and degrading form of punishment, Botswana is the only country in the region still showing flagrant contempt for the right to life,” said Muchena.

“Botswana’s step backward must not be replicated elsewhere in the region. While they didn’t carry out any executions, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe continued to hand down death sentences. We urge all countries to totally abolish the death penalty.” Across sub-Saharan Africa as a whole fewer executions were recorded but the number of death sentences more than doubled, largely due to a steep rise in Nigeria.

Last year May, Patrick Gabaakanye (65) of Marulamantsi ward in Serowe was hanged at the Gaborone Central Prison.

Gabaakanye was on March 13, 2014 convicted of the murder of a 75-year-old man at Gamosusu land in Metsimotlhabe village in Kweneng District on May 25, 2010.

He appealed, but the Court of Appeal, on July 30, 2015, dismissed the appeal against conviction and sentence.

Gabaakanye’s previous convictions include two offences of robbery and murder. He killed a security guard using a handgun during robbery. He was sentenced to 10 and 15 years imprisonment respectively for both offences.