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The crafting of the Coroner’s Office Bill, aimed at creating an independent office of the Coroner-General to adequately investigate unnatural deaths, is a welcome development in the administration of justice.

Recently, Cabinet approved the Bill and it is now at Parliament stage. The Bill, among other things, gives powers to coroners to impartially investigate circumstances surrounding unnatural deaths.

Concerns had been raised by stakeholders on the conduct of some medical practitioners whose negligence had reached alarming levels. A number of people have died in hospital while others died in labour wards due to negligence on the part of surgeons, but the cases were never properly investigated.

Doctors always get away with it because they normally cover-up for each other using complex medical jargon. Relatives of victims have sued surgeons with little success. At times investigations are conducted by the practitioners’ colleagues who compile biased reports to exonerate culprits.

The same has been happening in the police and the prison services. Cases of suspects who die under unclear circumstances while in police custody are investigated by police officers, who obviously protect the image of the police service.

They end up exonerating their colleagues, if any negligence or improper conduct is detected during the investigation. A number of prisoners have also died in jail, but investigations and reports on the deaths are naturally treated with a pinch of salt, considering the deceased will be in the hands of fellow prison officers.

The decision to come up with the independent office to impartially and adequately investigate deaths will provide a solution to the problem of biased reports. If the Bill sails through, the Coroner-General’s Office will be charged with the duty to investigate homicides, infanticides, drowning, suicides, accidents or deaths that occur within 24 hours of admission in health institutions.

The coroner will also provide expert forensic pathology evidence in courts concerning unnatural death. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests will also be conducted as part of the investigations.

The Coroner-General’s Office will be fully-fledged and fully-skilled to deal with all the investigations in its purview. Where the coroner feels the need for a post-mortem, it is done.

If there is need for an inquest, that will also be done. The coroner’s job goes beyond the physical analysis of the corpse as it involves interviews with witnesses or other stakeholders the same way the police do their work.

The Bill also seeks to bring a permanent solution to the acute shortage of forensic pathologists facing the country amid reports that the country does not have a single fully-trained forensic pathologist. Zimbabwe used to enjoy the services of Cuban pathologists, but the three that serviced the country recently went back to their country for various reasons. The development left Zimbabwe with no option, but to utilise its own doctors who specialised in histopathology to handle the situation.

The specialist in question, has an added qualification in forensic pathology and he is being assisted by fellow histopathology experts to handle the cases that require forensic reports and court evidence.

At least 10 murder-related cases have been stalled due to the shortage of forensic pathologists. The only practitioner in charge of forensic investigations is being overwhelmed with work, resulting in police investigations moving at a snail’s pace. The office of the coroner will be headed by the Coroner-General, who works with a team of fully skilled staff specialising in different fields relevant to the investigation of unnatural deaths.

Some will be trained to give expert evidence in court without fear, a sigh of relief to medical doctors who shy away from giving expert evidence due to the adversarial nature of our legal system.

The idea of coming up with the law dates back to the 1990s and it faded as the individuals involved left employment or died with the lapse of time.

Around 2000, Cabinet approved the idea, but it also died a natural death until 2017 when former Minister of Health and Child Care Dr David Parirenyatwa met President Mnangagwa (when he was still responsible for the Justice Ministry) and agreed to revive the noble idea.

President Mnangagwa agreed to sponsor the Act and the relevant processes commenced in 2017.