Government says new bill will have mandatory sentences for rape and murder, and here is the thing

A new bill is coming and it will have mandatory sentences for rape and murder, the Zimbabwe government has confirmed.

Speaking to the media at a post-cabinet briefing, Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said Cabinet had considered and approved the Criminal Law(Codification and Reform) Ammendment Bill, 2022.

“The Bill provides for a mandatory sentence in rape & murder cases,” Ndlovu said.

There has been a push for a minimum and mandatory sentence for rape, with some saying anything between 20 and 60 years for those found guilty.

Critics of mandatory sentences have said that, while increasing incarceration, there is no evidence that mandatory sentencing acts as a deterrent and reduces crime. They feel that a system should leave sentencing courts to assess and determine the appropriate sentence in each individual case up to, and including, the maximum. This was as published by the Australian Government’s Law Reform Commission of 2018

While, rape is heinous crime and must be treated with seriousness, the worry is that it shackles the judicial system.

Famm added that “Deterrence assumes that people will: 1) research the criminal code; 2) find the relevant mandatory penalty; and 3) be discouraged from criminal activity because of the penalty.

“In reality, people are not aware of mandatory penalties when they commit a crime.
Therefore, increasing the penalty or severity of a punishment is ineffective at deterring
people from engaging in criminal activity.

“Research has also made it clear that being caught and punished quickly – not lengthy
sentences – deters crime,” it concluded.