The death penalty is alive and well in Tanzania

Nationalism appears to be trumping human rights standards in Tanzania. In particular in its response to calls by a top African court to revise its law on the death penalty.

In two rulings issued on Tuesday, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the Tanzanian state violates the right to life by sentencing people to death without giving judges any discretion in the matter. It also ruled that sentencing people to die by hanging is cruel, inhumane and violates the right to dignity.