Malawi said it has been engaging with Zambia as it is moving toward enacting a law on the abolishment of death penalty.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling of 2021 abolished the death penalty by in Malawi, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.
Zambia is the 25th country in Africa to abolish the death penalty, after Sierra Leone in 2021 and the Central African Republic in 2022, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
Speaking during the World Day against Death Penalty, Minister Of Justice Titus Mvalo said consultations with their counterparts are mostly concluded and what remains now is for the country to start drafting the Bill.
He however, didn’t disclose the timeframe for the process.
In his remarks, The Director for Malawi Legal Aid Bureau, Trouble Kalua said there are a lot of people in prisons who are facing death sentences but they are yet to be prosecuted.
He said the bureau is often tied in such instances as it comes in as the third party in any case, which authority lies with the prosecuting authority.
“As long as the state is not ready to prosecute the matter and the court has not set them down, our hands are tight and we are unable to proceed with such matters,” he said
On the other hand, he said funding for the institutions has been a huge setback.
Human Rights lawyer, Alexious Kamangila said a move to abolish death penalty requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders with government’s interest in protecting life of the accused being fundamental of the process.
“We will continue engaging the minister of justice who has been very instrumental to see into it that we are making strides in this,” said Kamangila.
The commemoration of World Day Against Death Penalty was held at Maula Prison in Lilongwe.
