Amnesty International has condemned the High Court’s sentencing of seven-year-old Tapiwa Makore’s murderers to death urging commuting of the judgement to prison terms.
The killers Tafadzwa Shamba and Tapiwa Makore Snr were sentenced to death Wednesday by High Court judge Munamato Mutevedzi.
Tapiwa was murdered in 2020 for rituals and his body chopped into pieces.
His torso was found being mauled by dogs the morning after his murder while other body parts were discovered dumped in a pit latrine.
The torso was buried a year later and the head remains missing.
In a statement released Thursday, the human rights organisation said the death penalty violates the right to life.
“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to execute the prisoner.
“It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.
“While Amnesty International acknowledges the pain and anguish felt by Tapiwa’s family following the death of Tapiwa Makore, the death penalty is never the appropriate response and must never be used in any circumstances anywhere in the world,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè, said.
In opposing the death penalty, Amnesty International said, it in no way seeks to minimize or condone the crimes for which those sentenced to death were convicted.
“Anyone found guilty of a crime after a fair trial that meets international standards should be held accountable without resorting to the death penalty.
“There is no credible evidence that the death penalty has a greater deterrent effect on crime than prison terms,” added Farise.
Amnesty International urged the authorities in Zimbabwe to commute all death sentences to prison terms and called upon the Zimbabwean government to establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.
Zimbabwe has not had a hangman since 2005.