Rethinking the Death Penalty in Zimbabwe: The Hidden Trauma of Executioners and Families of the Condemned

The global discourse on the death penalty is polarized, with proponents and opponents presenting deeply entrenched arguments. In Zimbabwe, no executions have occurred since 2005, reportedly because of the unavailability of the executioner. On 31 December, 2024, Mnangagwa signed a bill into law abolishing the death penalty for all crimes and Zimbabwe joined other abolitionist states. This study contributes a unique perspective to anti-capital punishment debates, focusing on the psychological and emotional toll on executioners, their teams, and families of the condemned. Drawing on Amnesty International data and other key sources, this research highlights severe trauma and mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), frequently suffered by execution teams, due to exposure to inhumane and brutal execution practices. Previous literature overlooks these impacts, creating an incomplete narrative. This study argues for other African countries to abolish the death penalty on ethical and humanitarian grounds, urging the governments to consider these hidden impacts in their reviews of capital punishment. Moreso, capital punishment does not seem to align well with African cultural values and beliefs about murder and appropriate punishment.