MALAWI: GOVT SAYS DEATH PENALTY WILL BE ABOLISHED

October 12, 2023:

Government through the Ministry of Justice has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating death penalty in the country saying the act is barbaric.
This comes as the world was commemorating the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10th October 2023.
In Malawi, the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau in collaboration with the global community marked the World Day Against the Death Penalty at the event which took place at Maula Prison in Lilongwe where Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo graced the occasion.
Mvalo acknowledged the significance support among Malawians for the abolition of death penalty.
In his remarks, Director of the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau, Trouble Kalua said the death penalty is inhumane and unnecessary.
“There is need to abolish the death penalty. Strangely the death penalty is imposed on the poor in Malawi despite the law’s clear principle of equality before it, regardless of one’s wealth,” said Kalua.
He expressed disappointment for the fact that presidents are silent on the matter and courts keep on sentencing the poor to death penalty.
Meanwhile, various human rights organisations in the country have called for the presentation of a bill in parliament to formalize the abolition of the death penalty.