Ghana has become the 29th African nation to scrap the death penalty. This move is likely to result in commutation of the death sentences of 176 people, including six women, to life imprisonment.
On Tuesday, the country’s parliament passed a bill amending the criminal offences act, thereby terminating the use of capital punishment for crimes such as murder, genocide, smuggling and piracy.
The new legislation, however, still allows for the death penalty in cases of high treason. Campaigners warn that to fully abolish the capital punishment, changes to the country’s constitution are necessary.
Although Ghana has not executed anyone since 1993, its courts have continued to issue death sentences, including seven last year. The bill needs to be signed into law by the country’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, to take effect.
Francis-Xavier Sosu, the opposition MP who proposed the reform, expressed his pride in the momentous decision, and is eagerly awaiting the presidential assent.
Amnesty International lauded the move as a major stride towards abolishing the death penalty, which remains a part of the 1960 criminal offence act and the 1962 armed forces act. They reminded, however, that to fully eradicate this severe punishment, a constitutional revision is still required.
According to Amnesty, 23 out of 55 African countries have completely abolished the death penalty. Ghana now stands as the 124th country to scrap the death penalty, with 41 other nations having de facto bans as they haven’t executed anyone in over a decade.
Amid the historic decision, some voices of dissent have emerged. Harry Agbanu, a religious lecturer at the University of Ghana, fears that this move may inadvertently incentivise people to take the law into their own hands.
Yet, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, a lawyer and MP for the governing New Patriotic Party, argued that this decision was not meant to embolden criminals, but to uphold more humane ways of dealing with them.
According to prison authority records, 176 individuals, including six women, are currently sentenced to death in Ghana. It is now anticipated that President Akufo-Addo will give his assent to the bill in the coming weeks. With this, Ghana joins a growing league of African nations moving away from capital punishment.
