The situation in the field
In East Africa, the path towards abolition remains cautious, but positive signals could serve as leverage for the rest of the region, as seen in Kenya, where a bill for abolition was presented to Parliament in 2023.
ECPM has been collaborating with Crime Si Poa in Kenya since 2022, when the two organizations co-hosted a regional, multi-stakeholder seminar on the death penalty in East Africa — the first of its kind in the region. Additionally, Kenya, through Crime Si Poa, participated in the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Berlin, where the Kenyan delegation from the Abolition Now Tour presented its advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives.
This collaboration continued in 2024 with the launch of a three-year joint project.
Février 2025, Nairobi. Crédits photo : K Mutunga.
Strengthening advocacy for abolition in Kenya
The actions carried out by ECPM and Crime Si Poa in Nairobi from February 24 to 28 were aimed at better documenting the application of the death penalty in law and in practice, reflecting on strategies to work effectively towards abolition of the death penalty, and raising awareness of the issue among young people and the public. The militant spirit of the country’s youth is growing and is expressed in particular by their participation in actions carried out in favor of abolition in Kenya, notably via the media.
The two organizations are working to boost advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty with the national authorities, and to build the capacity of the actors involved, at both the parliamentary and civil society levels, thanks in part to the organization of workshops and conferences.
ECPM and Crime Si Poa work closely with actors in the Kenyan criminal justice system, as well as with the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and also offer para-legal training in prison for people sentenced to death.
Despite a moratorium in place since 1987, Kenyan courts continue to impose death sentences each year. However, Kenya has witnessed several significant commutations of death sentences. In 2009, President Mwai Kibaki commuted the sentences of all those on death row (4,000 inmates). In 2016, President Uhuru Kenyatta followed suit, commuting the sentences of 2,687 individuals on death row. In 2023, President William Ruto commuted the sentences of all prisoners sentenced to death before November 2022, converting their sentences to life imprisonment. This decision followed the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the power of mercy.
A turning point in favour of fairer and more humane criminal justice system occurred in 2017, when the Supreme Court of Kenya declared the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional (Muruatetu v. Republic of Kenya). This mandatory sentencing regime had deprived judges of their discretionary powers. By ruling the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional, the Court allowed for the reopening of trials, prioritizing this process and calling for a comprehensive review to establish a framework for similar cases. However, in 2021, the Supreme Court has issued guidelines on the application of the Muruatetu ruling, clarifying that this decision only applies in cases of murder, under Articles 203 and 204 of the Penal Code.
In 2024, while a bill submitted in 2023 still seems to be a dead letter in Parliament, Kenya took a highly symbolic first step towards abolition by voting for the first time in favor of the Resolution for a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
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