adminWalter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
HIGH Court judge Justice Francis Bere has called upon the legislature to act with haste in realigning the country’s laws with the new constitution.In an address to officially open the Masvingo High Court circuit on Monday, Justice Bere underscored the need to revise a number of laws that are not in sync with the constitution to avoid confusion.
“It’s hoped that the legislature will move with speed to align the various pieces of legislation with our new constitution. The coming into effect of the new constitution demands that certain laws be aligned to avoid creating unnecessary confusion,” said Justice Bere.
The judge also challenged the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to be aware of provisions of the constitution.
He said the new constitution demands that police observe people’s rights and it should not be business as usual.
“The navigation of the policing terrain can be fraught with many challenges. This will lead you into a collision with the citizenry if you don’t acquaint yourself with the individual’s rights as outlined in our fairly elaborate home grown constitution,” added the judge.
He stressed the need for the police to bring to court cases that are fully and thoroughly investigated, leaving nothing to chance.
He said investigators should do more to gather evidence and must bring exhibits to court.
He noted that some police officers were reluctant to bring exhibits to court and in most cases they use the transfer of investigating officers as an excuse.
“To me this is a lame excuse. All what is required is a coordinated approach in ensuring that these exhibits are made available at the time of trial for this is the sole reason why exhibits are recovered in the first place,” said Justice Bere.
He added that the police must adopt new trends in investigating serious cases such armed robbery, murder and rape.
“Let us see more of forensic examination of the identified specimen to close the net on these perpetrators of these crimes. For police officers who are tasked with the investigation of these criminal matters, there is need for them to be armed with a new professional trajectory, there is need for a paradigm shift in the way they execute their functions,” he added.
Eleven murder cases are set for trial in Masvingo and most of them were allegedly committed in Zaka District.
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