Anglicans plead for Lawal

2003-09-22 12:52

Cape Town - Anglican archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane is to write to Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in a plea to save the life of Amina Lawal, sentenced to death by stoning.

He made the announcement on Monday, following a resolution taken last week by the executive committee of his Church of the Province of Southern Africa.

The CPSA embraces several million Anglicans in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola and on the island of St Helena.

Lawal, 31, was sentenced under Islamic shari'ah law in March 2002 for having a baby out of wedlock.

Torture and humiliation

The CPSA executive, formally known as the church's standing committee, said the judgment was geared towards torture and humiliation.

"It is cruel, inhuman and degrading," the committee said.

It strongly urged Obasanjo to pardon Lawal, saying that though Nigeria's constitution recognised the right to life and a fair trial, those rights did not seem to have been afforded to her.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms Lawal as she awaits a decision on her appeal against the death sentence," the committee said.

"At the same time we recognise that her plight has come to epitomise the suffering of millions of women around the globe."

Njongonkulu said he would write to Obasanjo telling him about the resolution.

Asked whether the Anglican church in Nigeria had taken a stand on the issue, he said: "I have no idea; I haven't heard.

It emerged last week that President Thabo Mbeki has urged Obasanjo to save Lawal's life.

Lawal has appealed against her sentence. The shari'ah Court of Appeal in Katsina, Nigeria, is expected to announce its verdict on September 25.

- SAPA