adminTakudzwa Chiwereweshe Mutare Correspondent
Government has been urged to expedite the decentralisation of the justice delivery system in order to ensure that people have access to justice, an official has said.
Speaking at the first quarter gender development coordination meeting in Mutare recently, Manicaland provincial development officer Mr Emillo Chihono claimed the devolution of the justice system will enhance the administration of justice.
He also expressed concern over the backlog of cases, particularly in areas that did not have resident magistrates.
“There is an overwhelming number of criminal cases which remain untried due to the absence of permanent staff, as well as adequate court sittings at smaller centres as most magistrate courts are found in the cities and larger towns, hence most communities have to wait for extended periods of time before their cases can be heard by visiting magistrates,” he said.
The delays, he said, were working in favour of criminals who often walk free.
“There is need to deploy judicial officers to expedite access to legal services through administering justice efficiently and with reasonable promptness. Take into account the case of Chimanimani, which does not have a resident magistrate and has cases being heard only twice a week. This scenario has created a backlog of cases.
“I informally engaged the provincial magistrate on the matter and he told me that they were in the process of decentralising and that currently they were engaging the Judicial Service Commission.
“We pray for the acceleration of the decentralisation process so that cases are heard and cleared within a reasonable time-frame,” he said.
A development officer with the Ministry of Women and Youth Affairs Ms Rosmary Matanda, called for resident magistrates to be deployed to smaller centres.
“Centralisation of the justice system undermines the quality, responsiveness as well as productivity of judicial systems, so we might need to accelerate decentralisation by providing a specialist tribunal in affected and remote areas to reduce delays, costs and the strain on law courts, providing efficient and effective options of redress,” said Ms Matanda.
She further argued that by ensuring that legal processes were distributed and delegated, local communities would give their input through localised tribunal courts and resident personnel.
“A decentralised legal system is empowering and will go a long way in capacity building for communities through Government investment of legal systems at community level, resulting in increased community involvement and participation.
“It will also encourage locals to report crime timeously, as well as reduce conflict,” she said.
Online Reporter