Sierra Leone moves to abolish death penalty

Sierra has frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books.

CAPE TOWN, May 13 (ANA) – The government of Sierra Leone will move to abolish the death penalty in the West African country, Deputy Justice Minister Umaru Napoleon Koroma said on Wednesday.

The country, which is still recovering after decades of civil war, has frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books.

“Once the legislation goes to parliament and gets approved, that ends the story of the death penalty,” Koroma told AFP.

He added that the cabinet of President Julius Maada Bio had decided to push to abolish capital punishment in order to “uphold the fundamental human rights of Sierra Leoneans“.

No execution has taken place in the country since 1998 and death penalties are often commuted, according to AFP.

The president of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Eddinia Michaela Swallow, last week took part in a round-table discussion on the abolition of the death penalty, wrote the Sierra Leone Telegraph.

The meeting was held at the residence of the British High Commissioner in Freetown, Simon Mustard.

According to Mustard, there are 30 countries that have yet to abolish the death penalty worldwide.

He added that there is no proven justification that the death penalty can deter crimes of the same nature.

According to rights group Amnesty International, in 2019 the number of confirmed death sentences handed down in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 53%, from 212 in 2018 to 325 in 2019.

This was due to increases recorded in 10 countries, specifically Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Overall, death sentences were confirmed in 18 countries in 2019, an increase of one compared with 2018.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher