As the parliamentary committee on legal affairs continues soliciting views from different stakeholders on the abolishment of the death penalty in the country’s laws, the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) has stood its ground that it is not of such calls as this is contrary to the commandments of the Creator (Allah).
Making his contribution at a panel discussion held at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre last week, MAM southern region secretary Sheikh Sheriff Kaisi, who represented MAM National Chairman Sheikh Idrissa Muhammad said abolishing the death is direct disobedience to God as going by both the Bible and Qur’an the issue of killing someone who has killed another person has been highlighted.
“Islam believes that there’s no life that is more special than the other as such no one is allowed to take someone’s life. Qur’an says if one takes someone’s life he is regarded as if he has taken the life of all the people on earth and if one saves a life, he is regarded as if he has saved the entire earth.
As such MAM’s stand on the death penalty is firm and obvious, the death penalty should not be abolished,” he said.
However, Kaisi was quick to say to the decision not to support the abolishment is not his nor MAM but Allah.
“Do not understand this as my decision or MAM’s decision. No! This is the decision of God who commanded us. It’s there in the Qur’an and the Bible,” Said Kaisi.
The death penalty is a law that states that a person should be hanged after being found guilty of taking someone’s life unlawfully.
However, despite the law giving the mandate for the action to be taken when one is acquainted with the offense, no president in Malawi has ever signed for one to face the death penalty despite having a lot of cases.
Currently, offenders of the law, in this case, are given life sentences.
“Failure to execute the law does not invalidate the law”. Kaisi added when responding to the failure of presidents to execute their duties by not signing for one to be hanged when one has murdered a person.
