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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
CHIEF Justice Luke Malaba will this month preside over an historic swearing in ceremony of 60 new magistrates who will take oaths of office.

The ceremony, the first for the Judiciary, will be conducted on September 24 at Harare Magistrates’ Court.

In an interview, Judicial Service Commission (JSC) acting secretary Mr Walter Chikwana said the 60 magistrates would be deployed countrywide after an intensive induction programme.

“The grand ceremony will take place at Rotten Row building. That will be a historic event and the Chief Justice will preside over the ceremony.

“We have never had such a number of magistrates taking judicial oaths at once,” said Mr Chikwana.

The 60 were selected after an impressive performance in job interviews conducted in June this year.

Mr Chikwana said at the end of the induction programme, the JSC would conduct a competence and suitability assessment of the group.

“We are also doing a competence and suitability assessment on them in which we want to gauge their readiness to sit on the   Bench.

“If during this assessment we identify any who are not ready, we will not take any chances of swearing them in as magistrates,” he said.

After the swearing in ceremony, the new magistrates will take a one week’s break before assuming duty on October 1 at their respective stations countrywide.

Previously magistrates were sworn in without a standard induction, but Chief Justice Malaba’s leadership is now concerned with enhancing the quality of justice.

Recruitment of the 60 magistrates followed a decision by the Government to unfreeze 233 posts in the Judiciary.

Government recently gave the JSC the green light to recruit 233 employees in a bid to oil the wheels of justice and to restore the functionality of the courts.

The unfreezing of the posts saw the JSC recruiting 70 magistrates, 37 court interpreters, 15 clerks of court, 51 assistant registrars, 30 judges’ clerks and 30 drivers.

Of the 70 magistrates, 10 were regional magistrates.