LUSAKA, Zambia

The Zambian Parliament on Tuesday passed legislation to abolish the death penalty.

The Penal Code Amendment Bill of 2022 was debated for the past two months and only requires presidential assent to take effect.

"We have no objection to this process but we feel it should have started first with the supreme law of the land, the Constitution; especially part three: the Bill of Rights," said Stephen Kampyongo, member of parliament from the opposition Patriotic Front party.

The death penalty will now be replaced with a life imprisonment sentence.

The Southern African nation placed a moratorium on death penalty 25 years ago.

Also on Tuesday, the parliament repealed a law criminalizing defamation of the president.

The move has been seen as a step toward promoting media freedom and freedom of expression.