The death penalty is outdated, time for abolition
Welcome to our eighth #MembersKikao on the death penalty is outdated; time for abolition to be held on Zoom on 11th Oct 2023, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
The death penalty is a legal punishment in Kenya for crimes such as murder, treason, robbery with violence, and attempted robbery with violence. According to the Death Penalty Database, there are currently 1,365 people on death row in Kenya, including 26 women. However, no executions have been carried out in Kenya since 1987, when Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu, leaders of the 1982 coup d’état attempt, were hanged for treason. In 2016, President Uhuru Kenyatta commuted the death sentences of 2,747 inmates to life imprisonment. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya declared the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional and ordered resentencing of all death row inmates.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as it violates the right to life and the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Both rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948.
Amnesty International also believes that the death penalty has no unique deterrent effect on crime and may even cause further violence and injustice.
Amnesty International advocates for the abolition of the death penalty in Kenya and worldwide, and supports the efforts of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and victims’ families to challenge this practice.
Panelist:
- George Mwangala – Amnesty Kenya Board Member
- Wilson Kinyua – Death Penalty Abolitionist
- Moderated by Irungu Houghton, Executive Director, Amnesty International Kenya
Join us as we delve into this critical topic.