Uganda eliminates death penalty but Tanzania continues: Official

Over 10 African countries across African still continue to have death penalty. But the Parliament in Uganda has passed a law that eliminates death penalty with an amendment of four different laws that previously prescribed capital punishment including the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The Court had already its stand in its support and now it is a step ahead to totally abolishing the capital punishment. Once it gets approval from President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, it will bring total restriction in the death penalty even to the most serious crimes.

Whereas, although Tanzania has not executed anyone since 1994, the High Court has ruled that it has no adequate evidence to challenge the death penalty. This means, Tanzania will continue to stick to the earlier rules. The government of Tanzania faced protests from human rights activists who filed a complaint mitigating it's unconstitutional to breach the right to life.

As far as Uganda is concerned, currently there are 133 prisoners on death row and no one has been executed in the last two decades. The country has also observed a campaign to diminish death penalty. In 2009, the Court ruled in favor of death sentence to then prisoner Susan Kigula who was accused of murdering her partner, Constantine Sseremba. But the campaign raisers argued that the death sentence was unconstitutional.

More details awaited after signing of Yoweri Museveni.