- More than eight in 10 Batswana (81%) believe that the death penalty is an appropriate form of punishment for the most serious crimes, such as murder (Figure 1).
- While support for the death penalty is strong across the board, women are more likely to support it than men (86% vs. 77%), as are older citizens compared to the youngest adults (85% vs. 75%) (Figure 2).
- Almost four in 10 Batswana (38%) say people “often” or “always” receive unequal treatment by the legal system, while 56% say this “rarely” or “never” happens (Figure 3).
An overwhelming majority of Batswana are in favour of maintaining capital punishment for the most serious crimes despite international criticism of the practice, a new Afrobarometer survey indicates.
The protection of human rights has become a topical issue in Botswana politics, including questions about the legitimacy of the death penalty. Neighbouring Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty last month, leaving Botswana as the only country in the Southern Africa region that still uses the death penalty. The country has averaged one execution a year since 2019 and currently has 16 inmates on Death Row.
Critics of the death penalty argue that the law is often applied unequally to different groups in society. In Botswana, a sizeable minority of respondents say that the legal system in general treats people unequally, while a majority say such inequality is rare or non-existent.