…Justice Minister pressed to table Bill in upcoming Parliament Session…
The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has expressed concern over the country’s slow progress toward abolishing the death penalty, despite a de facto moratorium since 1994.
Chikondi Chijozi, MHRC Chairperson, voiced this concern through a press statement, saying it is surprising that this is happening when 94% of respondents in public hearings conducted by the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee in 2022 supported the abolition of capital punishment in Malawi.
Chijozi stated, “In 2018, a survey conducted by PASI & Cornell University on traditional leaders in villages highly impacted by homicides found that the majority opposed the use of the death penalty. Out of 102 traditional leaders, only 6 supported its use.”
Chijozi continued, “Despite repeated rhetoric and findings from studies, no significant action has been taken, and the expected bill to abolish the death penalty has not yet been prepared for submission to parliament.”
The Commission, through Chijozi, further wonders why the judiciary still imposes death sentences when no executions have taken place since 1994 when former President Bakili Muluzi declared that he would no longer sign execution warrants. The Commission has called for urgent action.
“The Commission, therefore, calls upon the Minister of Justice to ensure that the bill proposing the complete abolition of the death penalty is tabled at the forthcoming sitting of parliament,” Chijozi said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the Commission plans to directly engage Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo and the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament to ensure that the concerns are promptly addressed.
On April 28, 2021, in the original judgment of Charles Khoviwa v The Republic, the Malawi Supreme Court stated that capital punishment is unconstitutional in the country.
However, a few months later, the Court made a U-turn, saying it never abolished the death penalty and that High Court judges are free to sentence murder convicts to death.
