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Chief Magistrate Guvamombe

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter—
Magistrates in Zimbabwe have this year maintained their outstanding performance as they cleared a whopping 171 375 criminal and civil cases out of 174 724 in the first 11 months of the year. At the opening of the 2015 legal year in January, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku showered the office of the Chief Magistrate with accolades, praising the magistrates for unbelievably clearing the backlog of cases in 2014 despite the economic challenges facing the nation.

Beginning of the 2015 legal year, magistrates started with a backlog of 2 833 cases (2 213 criminal and 621 civil) and they received a combined 171 890 new cases, leaving the courts to deal with a total of 174 724 matters for the first 11 months of 2015.

Legal expert Mr Wellington Pasipanodya of Manase and Manase Legal Practitioners hailed Chief Magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe and his team for the good work. Mr Pasipanodya attributed the success to the Judicial Service Commission’s capacity building plan, decentralisation of the courts and other measures put in place by the commission.

“It is highly commendable to note the speed in which our court system has improved, especially in the midst of difficult financial circumstances that are currently being experienced,” he said.

“The efficiency of the Magistrates Court is mainly attributed to the capacity building plan by the Judicial Service Commission where every magistrate is expected to have a law degree.

“This has greatly improved the justice delivery system because of the ability by the esteemed magistrate to easily and efficiently dispense justice. A degreed based magistrate is a thousand times better than one who does not have a degree.”

Mr Pasipanodya said the decentralisation of the courts allowed every Zimbabwean, even those in the remote areas, to access justice. “The catchment area of deployment is also another factor contributing to the efficiency of the magistrates in that there is virtually a magistrate in every corner of Zimbabwe,” he said. “This decentralised system has ensured that access to justice is easily accessible to all our citizens in Zimbabwe.”

Ms Tambudzai Gonese of Lunga Gonese Attorneys said service at the magistrates’ courts had greatly improved and delays in cases were now a thing of the past. “As lawyers, we can really feel the improvement,” she said.

“There is indeed a great improvement and whatever measures put in place by the JSC are beginning to produce positive results. “Postponements are no longer granted easily and the court has to satisfy itself that indeed there is a good reason for that.”

Meanwhile, the magistrates’ courts are facing a challenge of suspects who abscond and flee out of the country while on bail despite having surrendered their passports, among other stringent conditions. Statistics obtained from the courts show that over the past three years, some 37 suspects skipped the border.

The statistics show that 11 suspects absconded in 2013, six in 2014 and 15 this year.