Capital punishment in Zambia
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Capital punishment was a legal penalty in Zambia until 2022. Despite its former legality, the country had not carried out any execution since 1997. Zambia was considered "Abolitionist in Practice".[1]
There were at least 9 new death sentences in Zambia in 2021. 257 people were on death row at the end of 2021.[2]
On 25 May 2022, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced that the death penalty would soon be abolished in Zambia.[3][4]
On 23 December 2022, capital punishment was officially abolished, though it remained in some military statutes.[5] These statutes were amended to fully remove capital punishment from courts martial in the Defense (Amendment) Act signed into law on 22 December 2023.[6]
On 19 December 2024, Zambia acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[7]
