Zimbabwe has hired a new official hangman. The post was empty for seven years, and the new hiring has sparked fears of executions."Indeed, we now have a hangman," Prison Service Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi told The Herald, Zimbabwe's state-controlled daily.
A hanging has not occurred in Zimbabwe since the last hangman retired in 2005, the AFP reported.
More from GlobalPost: Zimbabwe: HIV-positive maid laces child's porridge with menstrual blood
Human rights groups are horrified. "This macabre recruitment is disturbing and suggests that Zimbabwe does not want to join the global trend towards abolition of this cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment," Noel Kututwa, Amnesty International's southern Africa director, said in a statement.
Amnesty International has been calling for the death penalty to be abolished in Zimbabwe's new constitution, BBC News reported.
The Herald Newspaper, meanwhile, matter-of-factly explains that the new hangman has "a backlog of 71 people on his hands."
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.