Botswana can escape the hangman

Mail & Guardian

17-07-2025

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)
Lesedi Molapisi, a young Motswana woman, faces possible execution in
Yet this intervention is in stark contrast to its domestic reality, where it continues to uphold the death penalty.
The death penalty is applicable under Botswana's Penal Code for
Judicial discretion is limited, especially in murder cases. Judges are required to impose the death sentence unless mitigating evidence is deemed sufficient. This rigidity has attracted criticism, particularly from the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which continues to urge member states to
Historical practice
Since gaining independence in 1966, Botswana has averaged
The 2001 execution of South African
Two people were hanged in 2022. No detailed reports followed.
Flawed justification
Government officials have historically invoked public opinion to justify retaining the death penalty. According to
Studies internationally have shown that the death penalty
Regional trends
Botswana is now the
Across the continent, momentum is building toward abolition. Twenty-four African countries have abolished the death penalty in law. Fourteen more are considered abolitionist in practice; they have not executed anyone in the past 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.
In December 2024, Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty
Other countries are following suit. Kenya and Liberia have introduced abolition Bills, while The Gambia has initiated
Global picture
According to human rights organisation
But the significant increase in the known global total was mainly the result of a spike in executions in three countries in the Middle East — Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The known totals did not include thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, which remained the world's lead executioner, and in North Korea and Vietnam, countries believed to continue to carry out executions extensively but where access to information is restricted.
Importantly, the number of countries carrying out executions fell to a record low of just 15.
This suggests that although some regimes have doubled down, most of the world is moving toward abolition.
In 2024 at least 2 087 death sentences were imposed in 46 countries, but in many, no executions followed.
The abolition of the death penalty has long been recognised as the goal to be achieved under international human rights law and standards. Amnesty International opposes it unconditionally as a violation of human rights.
Chance for human rights
President Duma Boko is uniquely positioned to lead Botswana away from capital punishment.
As a human rights lawyer, he has spent much of his career
As the president of Botswana, he now has the opportunity to lead the process of abolition and consign the death penalty to the history books.
Since taking office in late 2024, Boko has continued the hiatus in execution and not authorised a single death warrant.
As of May, this year, 15 men were reported as remaining on death row. Although this restraint is significant, it is not sufficient. Without an official moratorium or legal reform, the machinery of execution remains intact.
Nevertheless, there are indications of a changing legal framework. The minister of justice recently announced plans to
This reform process presents a strategic opportunity to integrate broader human rights reforms, including abolition of the death penalty.
Moral contradiction
Lesedi Molapisi's case starkly exposes Botswana's contradictory stance on life and justice. The same government that rightly pleads for compassion in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has in the past signed off in silence and secrecy in Gaborone. If the sanctity of life is worth defending abroad, it must be defended without exception at home.
There is no credible evidence that capital punishment is more effective in deterring crime than life imprisonment. What it does is perpetuate violence under the cover of legality. It denies the possibility of rehabilitation and risks irreversible injustice.
Justice must be principled. It must be consistent. It must recognise that the value of a person's life cannot depend on the location of their conviction or the circumstances of their crime.
The principled stance the government has taken in calling for cancellation of the death penalty in Bangladesh ought to be accompanied by a removal of this most cruel forms of punishment in Botswana too.
Boko has a historic opportunity to align principle with policy and law. He could begin by declaring an official moratorium on all executions in the country and committing to legislative reform to remove the death penalty from the history books.
These are not radical demands. They are necessary steps toward a justice system grounded in dignity, accountability and the sanctity of life.
If Lesedi's case has taught us anything, it is that life is too precious and justice too fallible to gamble with. Botswana must lead not by the weight of tradition, but by the courage of its values.
Nkanyiso Mtolo is a campaigner at Amnesty International.