ANOTHER 13 magistrate courts are being established in high density suburbs of towns and cities and remote rural areas as the Second Republic seeks to make justice available to everyone in line with the policy of leaving no one and no place behind.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi made the announcement of additional magistrate courts including periodic sittings in remote areas in a Statutory Instrument gazetted yesterday. The areas that are set to have magistrate courts include Banket district in Mashonaland West, Nembudziya in Gokwe district, Mkoba in Gweru, Emganwini in Bulawayo, Shamva and Mushumbi in Mashonaland Central province, Sakubva and Dangamvura in Mutare, Brunapeg in Matabeleland South and Kamativi in Matabeleland North. Mbare, which already has a provincial court, was upgraded to have a regional court as well while Siabuwa and Lusulu in Binga, Matabeleland North will hold periodic magistrate courts.
The setting up of additional magistrate courts is expected to enhance the justice delivery system by ensuring that litigants, witnesses and accused persons are able to access justice near where they live in line with the National Development Strategy 1.
This will help in reducing or minimising cases of default especially by State witnesses and other litigants owing to long distances which might result in them failing to raise transport costs.
Additional courts will also help decongest magistrate courts at most provincial centres
The Judicial Service Commission has of late engaged local authorities to acquire land to build magistrate courts as it seeks to ensure that more judicial officers are deployed to as many places as much as possible including rural areas.
The JSC plans to decentralise and establish more criminal courts in Harare’s populous suburbs as well to cope with the high crime rate.
In March this year, President Mnangagwa commissioned the Epworth magistrate court which was a huge milestone in terms of bringing justice closer to people, a development that will help deal decisively with the soaring crime rate. This brings to three functional magistrate courts in Harare – those in Gamal Abdel Nasser Road, Mbare and Epworth.
The Epworth magistrate court was meant to respond to the huge workload in Zimbabwe’s fifth largest urban authority.
