The protection of human rights has become a topical issue in local politics, including questions about the legitimacy of the death penalty since the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) won last year’s General Election. As things stand, Botswana remains the only country in Southern Africa that administers capital punishment. With Duma Boko, a well-known human-rights advocate at the helm of the country, there have been suggestions that the country might review the death penalty. The new President has consistently opposed the death penalty, arguing that it didn’t serve as a deterrent to the rise in murder cases in Botswana.
The latest study findings suggest that more than eight in 10 Batswana (82%) believe that the death penalty is an appropriate form of punishment for the most serious crimes, such as murder. Only 16% of the population is of the view that the death penalty is never justified. Whilst support for the death penalty is strong across the board, the survey results indicate that women (86%) are more likely to support it than men (77%), as are older citizens (85%) compared to the youngest adults (75%). The survey results also show that the same number of participants in urban and rural areas feel the same way about capital punishment. Almost four in 10 Batswana (38%) say people “often” or “always” receive unequal treatment by the legal system, whilst 56% say this “rarely” or “never” happens. The Afrobarometer team in Botswana, led by Star Awards, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Batswana between July 6 and 19, 2024. The survey findings were published on January 23, 2025.
Critics of the death penalty argue that the law is often applied unequally to different groups in society. In Botswana, a sizeable minority of respondents say that the legal system, in general, treats people unequally, whilst a majority say such inequality is rare or non-existent. The latest findings confirm the general consensus about the death penalty following the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution of Botswana, commissioned by former president Mokgweetsi Masisi. Recommendations made by the Commission suggested that the death penalty must continue. Neighbouring Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty last month, leaving Botswana as the only country in the Southern Africa region that still uses the death penalty. The country has averaged one execution a year since 2019 and currently has 16 inmates on death row.
