Arusha. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) has ordered the Tanzania government to amend its Penal Code and abolish the mandatory death penalty for persons convicted of murder.
The ruling targets Section 197 of Tanzania’s Penal Code, which currently prescribes only one punishment for murder, death by hanging, with no alternative sentence available to judges.
The Court held that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty violates fundamental human rights, including the right to life, as protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a treaty ratified by Tanzania.
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