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Mrs Mabhiza

Locadia Mavhudzi Midlands Correspondent
Government is realigning the juvenile justice system in line with the United Nations standard minimum rules on the administration of juvenile cases, an official has said.

Officially opening a national training workshop on management of juvenile crimes for Community Service Officers in Gweru on Tuesday, permanent secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza said her ministry was working on new modalities to deal with child offenders.

She said the ministry had fully adopted a pre-trial diversion (PTD) programme to ensure all children that come into conflict with the law had equal access to justice. PTD is a Government-initiated programme that seeks to channel cases involving children from the formal criminal justice system to extra-judicial programmes premised on the general consensus that child offenders were often victims of harsh socio-economic circumstances.

“The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has fully adopted the pre-trial diversion as a national programme and this has necessitated the need for expansion of the programme throughout Zimbabwe in order to ensure all children who commit offences in both rural and urban areas have equal access to justice,” she said.

Mrs Mabhiza said the national programme would be implemented by the ministry together with its partners such as police, National Prosecuting Authority and the Judicial Service Commission, who will also undergo training on handling crimes involving juveniles. She warned civil servants to guard against laziness, while reminding them of Government’s new approach to work.

“Let me also take this opportunity to remind you all that the new Government thrust is based on efficiency and effectiveness. I urge you all to commit to your duty, lest you will have no space under the new Government,” said Mrs Mabhiza.

Chairman of the National Steering Committee on the PTD programme, Justice Alphas Chitakunye said the programme was a realisation by Government of the need to move away from punitive and retributive practices to more rehabilitative, restorative and educative justice system when dealing with juveniles.

“PTD is intended to hold children accountable and responsible for their actions and provide them with an opportunity to re-think their lives without getting a criminal record or going through the often stigmatising and unnerving criminal justice system, he said.

The PTD programme targets juveniles under the age of 18 years who have been arrested for offences not considered to be serious, and which would ordinarily attract a sentence of 12 months or less within the formal Criminal Justice System.

Zimbabwe has ratified two key International Treaties, namely the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.