Dar-Es-Salaam to Host Dialogue on Death Penalty

 

THE East Africa Law Society in collaboration with the Pan- African Legal Empowerment Initiatives and Reprieve UK will convene a two-day stakeholders’ dialogue in Dar es Salaam tomorrow on recent developments in the application of death penalty in East Africa.

A joint statement availed to the media on Wednesday  said the dialogue will enable stakeholders from Tanzania and Malawi to share insights and best practices regarding the death penalty, with a specific focus on one aspect of Tanzania’s laws: the mandatory death penalty.

According to the statement the forum comes in light of a November 2019 decision by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the mandatory death penalty and its reform in Malawi, and other countries across the region.

It said the event is expected to draw together key actors ranging from lawyers to civil society actors, and leading human rights organizations in Tanzania.

Other participants include legal representatives from Malawi and justice stakeholders across Tanzania to facilitate a dialogue on eliminating the mandatory death penalty in Tanzania.

During the dialogue delegates will share knowledge and engage in capacity building based on the experience of Malawi and thus adapt their insights to the Tanzanian’s context.

In recent years, the use of the death penalty throughout Africa has greatly declined where in most regions of the world; the number of executions is minuscule, underscoring the exceptional nature of capital punishment even among those countries that retain it as a matter of law.

Only four African countries still retain the death penalty in law and practice. Twenty- three African countries have abolished the death penalty, while 21 more including Tanzania, are considered de facto abolitionist, as they have not carried out executions in over ten years. Anti -death penalty campaigners would wish to see states scrap away the capital punishment as it violates the fundamental principles of human rights, specifically the right to life.

Their argument is based on the fact that no judicial system is perfect and there are chances that some people could be convicted to pay for a crime they did not commit simply because they cannot afford to pay for a good defense lawyer.

It is also based on the fact that death penalty is irreversible and once implemented it cannot be revoked. Tanzania still retains the capital punishment in its country books and the last execution was in 1994.

Share And Comment Bellow On What You Think About This Post!!!