February 4, 2010: the National Constitutional Conference in Zambia upheld the Constitution’s death penalty clause. Article 34 (2) states that a person shall not be deprived of life intentionally except in the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the law in force of which that person has been convicted.
After a heated debate where some delegates said the clause should be retained in the Constitution while others said that it should be deleted, the conference decided that capital punishment should be allowed in Zambia.
Contributing to debate Colonel Moses Phiri said the death penalty should be upheld and that the Bible was clear as it gave the State power to take life of person because there were offences like treason or terrorism.
Christine Mulundika asked why society should talk about the rights of someone who had killed another person at the expense of the one that had lost life.
Bishop John Jere said that God's word should be supported as it said that those who live by the sword die by the sword while Dante Saunders asked why the clause should be removed when other countries wanted to re-introduce it. (Sources: AllAfrica.com, 04/02/2010)
