The
death penalty is murder wrapped up in euphemism to appear more palatable to the
masses. We merely find it less chilling and somehow acceptable because it is
committed by the state, for justice-as we purport. But whichever way we look at
it, it is murder.
In
the last few weeks, the judiciary has gone on an overdrive in handing down
capital punishment to individuals charged with committing some of the most
horrific and unimaginable crimes in our society. In one such ruling, a 30 year
old man was sentenced to death for killing his four month old step daughter. In
a similar case, a 63 year old man was given the death sentence after defiling
and killing his daughter in Kiambu. Undeniably, these are horrid crimes
deserving the toughest of penalties.
But
can we ever really justify the death penalty? What does it achieve? Who is the
winner here? For the family of the victims, there may be closure, or perhaps
not. After all, it does not bring their loved ones back. We may argue that
perpetrators are paying for their crimes and getting what they deserve. But
isn’t sending them to the hang man handing them a free and quick pass to the
afterlife? Is this not somehow allowing
them to escape from their crimes? A life sentence seems more appropriate-
another life is saved while at the same time we give perpetrators the space to
live with their actions till their dying day.
Clearly,
capital punishment does not act as a deterrent. Human beings, globally, are
inherently wicked. Even in countries (such as China, Iran, Iraq, the USA among
others) where executions are the norm, heinous crimes continue to be committed.
Kenya
has had a coy approach to capital punishment. While the death penalty remained
firmly engraved within our laws following the promulgation of a new
constitution in 2010, Kenya still remains a de facto abolitionist state. Not a
single person has been executed for nearly two decades. The last man was hanged
in 1987 following the 1982 failed coup. Quite frankly our country lacks the
political will to maintain capital punishment and has even toyed with the idea
of abolishing all together. In 2009, the former president Mwai Kibaki,
announced that he was commuting the death sentences of an estimated 4,000
people to life imprisonment. But perhaps the most important argument is the
fact that capital punishment lacks the people’s will. We don’t appear to desire it. Kenya prides
itself for having one of the most progressive constitutions in the world- why
then can’t we just abolish this retrogressive and outdated law?
Njoki
Mwangi
No comments:
Post a Comment