By Juliet Lukwago & Petride Mudoola

KAMPALA - A group of Americans is planning to petition the Ugandan parliament in efforts to have the death penalty abolished.

Bill Pelke, the president of Journey of Hope, says they plan to challenge the death penalty although he did not specify when exactly they will do so.

He says their move will help to sensitize Ugandan MPs on the cruelty of the death sentence – something that he believes should ultimately lead the legislators into advocating for the abolition of the punishment.

Uganda is one of the few countries in the world with the death penalty, although no execution has been carried out since 1999, when Haji Mustapha Sebirumbi was hanged.

Following a global campaign, 139 countries – including 13 in Africa – have abolished the death penalty in the last 12 years.

Presently, Uganda’s prisons accommodate 393 inmates on death row. Of these, 357 are male while 36 are female.

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From left, some members of Journey of Hope, Bill Pelke, Bill Babu Babbitt, Curt's M Coft and Terri Steirberg. PHOTO/Juliet lukwago

Pelke says the death penalty is “cruel, inhumane, degrading and traumatizing for the people who carry out executions”.

He says that being missionaries, they came up with the idea of visiting countries that retain the death penalty so as to sensitize citizens on the cruelty of the sentence and therefore persuade them to think of other options.

He gives an example of a case where a US court sentenced a 15-year-old girl to death after she was deemed to be a ring leader in the killing of Pelke’s grandmother. He says there is need for human beings to forgive whoever offends them.

“You don’t have to be a Christian to forgive. Forgiveness is the cornerstone of all major religions. Forgiveness is letting go of the desire for revenge and moving forward, in all areas of your life.”

His organization – Journey of Hope – is one led by family members of murder victims who are opposed to the death penalty.

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The group met Kampala Archbishop Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga. PHOTO/Juliet Lukwago

Established in 1982, it has promoted forgiveness and reconciliation to death row inmates and the families they offended.

Every year, the group travels to various organisations to spread the message of non-violence and forgiveness and has so far traveled to 16 African countries and 40 states in the US.

“Death row family members and other activists join our traveling journey tours as we strive to put a human face on the issue of the death penalty.”

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