Tanzania: Taking Steps Towards the Annihilation of the Mandatory Death Penalty

A rare opportunity to have been selected and approached by the World Coalition Against Death Penalty (http://www.worldcoalition.org/) based in France to assist a team of legal and humanitarian heavyweights in an upcoming constitutional challenge against the mandatory death sentence in Tanzania. I believe, my own submissions in the Singapore courts in 2010, wherein I challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty, and my tireless campaign to save Yong Vui Kong was instrumental in being selected for the Tanzanian challenge.

I have been in touch with Mr. Fulgence Massawe of the Human Rights Centre of Tanzania since 2016 and we have been discussing various litigation and human rights strategies. I will be travelling to Tanzania from 12th to 15th July to do some preparatory work and to guide the legal team. I am truly excited to be able to meet Fulgence in person. He has been at the forefront of several human rights cases in Tanzania and his activism is a source of inspiration in its own right.

Pressure is mounting for Tanzania to formally abolish the death penalty

Pressure is mounting for Tanzania to formally abolish the death penalty. Tanzania has not carried out capital punishment since 1994 and it hopes that the country will join the long list of countries which have voluntarily adhered to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and to fully implement its article 3 on the right to life. What has helped Tanzania immensely is President John Magufuli’s commitment that he would not sign any death warrant during his term in office. If only we saw such commitment in Singapore too.

I look forward to another enriching experience on my journey in International Human Rights Lawyering and to be part of Tanzania’s monumental move towards the advancement of human rights and the annihilation of the mandatory death penalty.

#DeathPenalty #HumanRights #Tanzania #Namati #WorldCoalitionAgainstDeathPenalty