Majority of citizens say people are "often" or "always" treated unequally under the law.
Key findings
- More than half (55%) of Zimbabweans say the death penalty is a fair punishment for those who commit the most serious crimes, such as murder, while 44% believe there is no crime for which the death penalty can be justified. o Support for capital punishment is stronger among respondents experiencing high lived poverty (60%) than their better-off counterparts (53%). o Regionally, support drops to below half in Masvingo (44%).
- A slim majority (53%) of citizens say punishments for ordinary people who break the law are "about right," while 31% say they are "too harsh." o In contrast, 56% believe sentences for political leaders, government officials, and other powerful people who commit crimes are "too lenient."
- Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents say officials who commit crimes "often" or "always" go unpunished, and a similar majority (64%) say people are "often" or "always" treated unequally under the law.
- Six in 10 Zimbabweans (60%) say they trust the courts "somewhat" or "a lot." ▪ Majorities think that if they were to go to court with a legal problem, the case would be resolved fairly (56%) and in a timely manner (51%).
- About six in 10 respondents (62%) think that ordinary citizens who are wronged can obtain justice in the courts.
- A majority (59%) of Zimbabweans say the government is doing a poor job on fighting crime.
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On 31 December 2024, Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty except during officially declared states of emergency (APA News, 2025). President Emmerson Mnangagwa, himself on Death Row in the 1960s during the country's war of independence, championed this historic reform (Chothia, 2024). Amnesty International (2024a) lauded the move as a "beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region." It is the latest in a continental trend toward ending capital punishment, making Zimbabwe the fifth African country to abolish the death penalty since 2020.
The move came two decades after Zimbabwe last carried out an execution. The new law spares the lives of at least 59 inmates on Death Row. The courts were tasked with re sentencing the criminals, and judges were instructed to take into account the nature of their crimes, the duration of their time on Death Row, and their personal circumstances (Chothia, 2024).
In June 2024, prior to the legislative milestone striking down capital punishment, Afrobarometer surveyed Zimbabweans to find out what they think about the death penalty as part of a broader exploration of their perceptions of the country's judicial system.
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More than half of Zimbabweans believe the death penalty is a fair punishment for those who commit the most serious crimes, although a significant minority think there is no crime for which the death penalty can be justified.
More broadly, majorities think that penalties for ordinary people who commit crimes are "about right" while sentences for elites who break the law are too light. Overall, nearly two thirds of respondents say people are treated unequally under the law.
Nonetheless, three-fifths of citizens express trust in the courts, and similar majorities are confident that ordinary citizens who are wronged can obtain justice in the courts and that they would get a fair and timely resolution if they went to court with a legal problem.
Simangele Moyo-Nyede Simangele is a research officer Mass Public Opinion Institute
Suhaylah Peeraullee Suhaylah Peeraullee is the capacity building trainer at Afrobarometer.
