4.6. The abolition of the death penalty remains under consideration by the Government of Zimbabwe. In any event, Zimbabwe has not carried out any execution in more than 10 years and as such has become a de facto abolitionist country. While there have been many calls for the abolition of the death penalty the Constitution still allows for the death penalty in limited circumstances according to Section 48 as explained in Paragraph 4.1 above. 4.7. While police violence and extra judicial killings are not a common phenomenon in Zimbabwe, it is imperative to note that the country has adequate laws and institutions to investigate, prosecute and bring to book the perpetrators no matter who they are in terms of Section 56 (1) of the Constitution that treats all people equal before the law. 4.8. On a sad note, on 1 August 2018 soon after the General Election, Zimbabwe went through a dark patch when a public protest became violent. It was established that the violent public protests were organised by the main opposition political party who were agitating for the premature release of the election results. 4.9. The violent protestors began to destroy public property and threatening the peace and security of the majority of the peace loving Zimbabweans which action warranted the deployment of the army to assist the police in quelling the violence that had gone out of hand. 4.10. The use of force by the army and the police resulted in the unfortunate loss of lives by six individuals on this fateful day. 4.11. In response to this unusual and regrettable occurrence the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe appointed an Page | 12