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Amnesty International (AI) has condemned the execution of two people in Botswana after they lost their respective death sentence appeals.
In a press statement on Monday, the international human rights body also called on President Mokgweetsi Masisi to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
The two were executed on 8 February at Gaborone Central Prison, said Amnesty International Director of East and Central Africa, Deprose Muchena.
The Botswana Prisons Service announced the executions of 33-year-old Wedu Mosalagae and 29-year-old Kutlo Setima.
They were both sentenced to death in 2019 for murder-related offences.
“The continued use of the death penalty in Botswana and the sharp rise in executions under President Masisi is a chilling reminder of the contempt with which Botswana authorities view the right to life,” Muchena said in a press statement.
“Botswana, under President Masisi, is continuing to go against the regional trend by increasing its executions of people,” he added.
He noted that in Africa, many countries have either abolished the death penalty or are no longer executing people.
A total of six people have been executed since President Masisi’s inauguration in November 2019, the human rights organization noted.
The death penalty is still used for murder in Botswana, and it is the only country in southern Africa that continues to carry out executions.
“The death penalty is cruel and inhuman, and there is no credible evidence that it has a greater deterrent effect on crime than imprisonment,” Amnesty International said.
The rights body said instead of resorting to executions, the authorities should focus their efforts on strengthening the justice system, giving people fair trials and addressing the causes of crime. (PANA/NAN)
-Feb, 10, 2021 @ 1;35pm
Tags: Rights body urges Botswana President to abolish death penalty
