The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights issued a landmark ruling on February 5, 2025, declaring that the United Republic of Tanzania violated human rights protections under the African Charter by mandatorily imposing the death penalty. The Court has ordered significant reforms to the country’s penal code and judicial practices.
The case, filed in March 2018, revolved around the sentencing of Ladislaus Chalula, who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging in 1995. The Court found that Tanzania’s mandatory death penalty, as well as the method of execution—hanging—violated the right to life and dignity, as guaranteed under Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter.
The Court’s judgment requires the Tanzanian government to remove the mandatory death penalty from its Penal Code within one year. Additionally, it ordered the government to discontinue hanging as a method of execution, also within one year.
“The judgment is a monumental step in the fight against the death penalty in Africa,” said Advocate Donald Deya, CEO of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), which represented Chalula. “This decision continues the progressive evolution of African jurisprudence on human rights, and it provides a strong foundation for our ongoing efforts to abolish the death penalty across the continent.”
The ruling also mandates that the Tanzanian government reopen Chalula’s case to ensure his sentencing is reconsidered by a court with discretion, rather than a mandatory death penalty. The government must submit reports on the status of the implementation of the ruling every six months.
In a statement following the judgment, PALU expressed hope that Tanzania would comply with the ruling and work to abolish the death penalty, an issue already raised in a prior African Court case, Ally Rajabu and Others v United Republic of Tanzania (2019).
“This decision is a call to the Tanzanian government to take action and implement what the Court has ruled in this case and previous cases,” Deya added. “We implore the government to make progress on this long-standing issue.”
The African Court’s decision has been hailed by human rights groups, particularly in light of its ongoing advocacy against capital punishment in Africa. The Court has now set a clear precedent for other countries in the region.
The ruling also addressed the broader issue of death penalty practices in Africa, with PALU reaffirming its commitment to continue the fight for human rights and to seek an Advisory Opinion on the compatibility of the death penalty with the African Charter, which was filed in November 2024.
The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications across the continent, where the death penalty remains legal in several countries, despite growing calls for abolition.
