Burkina wants to reintroduce the death penalty: government source

Burkina Faso’s military regime wants to reintroduce the death penalty after the West African country abolished it in 2018, a government source told AFP on Saturday.

According to Amnesty International, the last execution in Burkina Faso took place in 1988.

The reintroduction of the death penalty into the criminal code “is being considered. It is up to the government to discuss it and then submit the proposal to the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) for adoption,” the source said, adding that the date has not yet been set.

Justice Minister Rodrigue Bayala said on Friday – after parliament passed a bill introducing community service – that “the issue of the death penalty, which is being discussed, will be implemented in the draft penal code.”

Bayala also said there may be further changes to the penal code “to follow the vision and directives of the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traore,” who seized power in a coup in September 2022.

The Burkinabe government passed a law in July that included plans to ban homosexuality.

Amnesty International has reported an increase in the use of the death penalty on the African continent, saying in a statement in October that “recorded executions have more than tripled and recorded death sentences have increased significantly by 66%.”

On the other hand, the human rights group noted that “24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while two other countries have abolished it only for common crimes.”

“Kenya and Zimbabwe have currently introduced draft legislation to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, while Gambia… has initiated a constitutional amendment process that will… effectively abolish the death penalty,” it said.