Faiza Saleh Mohamed, Faculty of Law and Shariah, Zanzibar University
ABSTRACT
Theft is one of the crimes against property. These crimes have been rising by considerable numbers and the world today seems to be no longer safe. Since property is the backbone of the country’s economy, people feel safe when there are laws that protect them and their properties against such misfortunes. Despite having penal laws, Zanzibar has been facing this problem like most of the countries that do not use Islamic penal laws in their judicial systems. Therefore, this study aims at comparatively examine theft punishment under Islamic law and the Penal Act No. 6 of 2018, of the laws of Zanzibar. The researcher used qualitative methodology which included both primary in the form of interviews and focus group discussions and secondary data collection methods to test the effectiveness of theft punishments provided under both laws. The findings show that theft punishment of imprisonment as provided under the Penal Act No. 6 of the laws of Zanzibar is not deterring and reformative enough to reduce theft crimes that keep on happening each day. Thus, an amendment of the penal laws should be done and incorporate an alternative punishment such as that produced under Islamic law (hand-amputation) for effective results as in the case of Islamic-practicing countries such as Saudi Arabia where theft crimes have proven to be less growing.
Keywords: Theft Punishment, Imprisonment, Hand-Amputation, Islamic Law, Zanzibar Penal Laws
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