‘Magistrates are not told who to convict’

MG: Quite challenging and exciting because on daily basis there are new challenges involving court operations throughout the country.  As Chief Magistrate, my job is to provide leadership in overcoming those problems.  At the end of the day, court users should be satisfied with the quality of service we provide.
DN: What are your expectations and vision in improving the justice delivery system?
MG: I find myself fortunate to have assumed this office at a time when the Judicial Service Commission has developed its comprehensive five-year Strategic Plan.  I must hasten to point out that I was personally and intimately involved in the process of developing the plan.  Thus in a sense, as a contributor I fully endorse the collective vision and expectations of the Judicial Service Commission defined in the Plan. The vision as encapsulated in the Plan, is living testimony of the one I share, namely — “To promote and facilitate the delivery of world class justice.’’
As for my expectations — these are guided by the vision and in summary form these are:
l For the entire magistracy to be fully geared to achieve effective and efficient justice delivery by working tirelessly towards quick disposal of cases that come before the courts.
l To be receptive to views of the court users both professional and non-professional and self-introspect on how best to provide a quality service, without compromising our independence.
l Remember our purpose in life is justice delivery — so I expect magistrates to focus all their energies on providing expeditious quality justice to all manner of people, without fear or favour.
DN: What are the challenges facing the office of the chief magistrate?
MG: First I must clarify that when you refer to my office i.e. the Office of the Chief Magistrate, you cannot separate it from the entire magistracy.  It is in this context that I will answer your question. Just like all other publicly funded institutions the magistracy was not spared from the ills brought about by the decade long economic down turn experienced by the country;
l We suffered a high staff attrition rate through resignations — thus losing a large number of experienced and well-seasoned personnel.
l The lack of resources badly affected the court infrastructure, in terms of both development and maintenance.
l Affected the move towards having adequately and well equipped courts such as modern ICT equipment and even physical up-to-date libraries.
I am sure you are aware of the various ills that came with that period of economic downturn, as they are common to all publicly funded institutions.  As the magistracy we are no different and were not immune from these ills. What I have referred to the obvious challenges whose genesis is traceable to our recent past events.  Just to be brief;
l We have a dedicated staff, both judicial officers and support staff — but one has to acknowledge that the vast majority needs to gain certain competencies for them to perform the jobs better.
l Our existing court infrastructure requires urgent rehabilitation and in some cases we need to expand it while in others there is need to build from scratch.
l Provision of ICT equipment must be catered for.
l Physical libraries with relevant legal reference material are a must and need to be catered for.
l I can go on and on but I believe the message is clear that focus must be on resourcing the courts both financially and materially.
DN: The justice delivery system has been attacked left, right and centre for corruption, what do you think is the cause for such a vice? 
MG: Corruption whatever its causes is a criminal offence and unacceptable.  As a Department we have adopted a zero tolerance on corruption.  There can never be justification for corruption.
DN: Can you suggest a solution or a way of minimising corruption in the system?
MG: We have embarked on an aggressive training programme for all our officers including magistrates, as way of combating corruption. Cases involving corruption by members of the department are both administratively and in our courts dealt with firmly and expeditiously. As an office, we deal with complaints from members of public promptly. We have established liaison collaborative platforms with stakeholders such as Police, Prisons, Attorney General’s Office, Law Society of Zimbabwe and Anti-corruption Commission to formulate strategies to combat corruption. We cannot however close our eyes to the issue of low salaries.  Better salaries and working conditions will go a long way towards dissuading members of staff from engaging in corrupt tendencies. We have also put mechanisms in place to improve on our efficiency to ensure matters are disposed of expeditiously.
DN: There have been corruption accusations and counter-accusations between magistrates and prosecutors in the manner bail is granted and the subsequent invocation of Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. How does such invocation affect magistrates on the bench?
MG: Magistrates are a creature of statute.  Their role in the administration of justice is to interpret the law.  The duty of making law is for the Legislature.  It is not the duty of a magistrate to like or dislike a particular law.  Section 121 is part of our law.  As long as it is part of our Statutes, magistrates are obliged to give effect to it.
DN: Regional magistrates are driving Isuzu and Toyota Hilux double cab vehicles countrywide. Are there any plans of extending the facility to provincial and other junior magistrates? 
MG: Regional Magistrates are the most senior grade of magistrates.  The provision of official use of motor vehicle is a condition of service for this level of magistracy.  Lets not exaggerate — in all organisations conditions of service and perks differ between different levels of staff. 
We are not different. Having said this it is the desire and wish of my office to see to it that all levels of staff are afforded some vehicle loan facility to enable them purchase affordable motor vehicles.
DN: Do we have enough magistrates in Zimbabwe?
MG: We have an establishment of 250 magistrates countrywide but 214 are in post. We have 36 vacant posts. We were also affected by the recruitment freeze. We have a recruitment freeze in the chief magistrate’s office. We are not able to recruit more magistrates to replace those we have lost through resignation, death and other reasons. We are understaffed.
DN: The building that houses the Harare Civil Court is not a proper court building and has since been condemned. What are you doing about it?
MG: It is true that the building is not suitable for human habitation. Those were actually stables, which have been converted into offices. As JSC, we are seriously engaged in identifying suitable alternative for the civil court. The building is beyond repair and during rainy season it leaks all over, destroying furniture and court records.
DN: Water woes at the courts especially the Harare Magistrates’ Court are now a common issue and at times courts operate half-day. What is the root problem? Are you not paying water bills?
MG: You talk of the water crisis — this is not something, which is unique to the courts — but one that has affected and is affecting the whole of Harare.  We also depend on treated water supplies from the Municipality. I assume you have asked this question because of the situation that occurred some few months ago when we temporarily closed Harare Magistrates Court following a 4 or so days water disruption.  What I must emphasise is that, that episode did not only affect the court but one which had affected the whole Kopje area.
However, that is now in the past and the problem has since been rectified, both in terms of Council supplies and we have put up a more permanent solution by drilling a borehole equipped with 6 x 5000 litres storage tanks. So your question as to whether the problem was caused by non-payment of bills is a non-issue.  Bills are paid in time and we are up-to-date with the water bills.
DN: How far true are claims that some magistrates work on instructions on who to convict and who to acquit?
MG: I am sure you have heard of the independence of the judiciary.  But perhaps what most people might not know is that it encompasses more than independence from influence of the other two pillars of the State i.e. the Executive and the Legislature. At the very basic it begins with independence in the adjudicative functions of individual judicial officers. 
By this I mean every single judicial officer, save through the legally recognised methods of review and appeal, is independent from the influence of even their colleagues or bosses.  Not even the Chief Justice can direct a judicial officer on how to decide a case one way or the other, save through the legitimate method of reviews and appeals.
The simple answer to your question is that there is no truth in claims that magistrates are instructed as to how to decide a case.
DN: Some magistrates are lodging in the high-density suburbs where most criminals also live. Are there no chances of compromising professionalism? Can a magistrate send his or her landlord to jail?
MG: It is no secret that magistrates like any other Zimbabwean, live in the same neighbourhoods with others, including high-density suburbs, whether as lodgers or landlords. The environment where one lives and the circumstances of such living may or may not compromise one’s ability to maintain professionalism.  But let us not generalise and say all who live in high-density areas and are lodgers are incapable of maintaining professionalism. 
Personally I do not subscribe to such notion. However, having said that I believe that because of the special responsibilities placed on magistrates it is important, if not imperative to ensure that they are properly and adequately accommodated to minimise all temptation that comes with an unsuitable environment.
DN: Thank you for your time.
MG: It’s always a pleasure.

You ask can a magistrate send his/her landlord to jail? The simple answer lies in the fact that it is unethical for any judicial officer to preside over a matter, which he ought properly to recuse himself or herself.  It matters not whether it is a magistrate who lodges or who attends the same social grouping with the accused.  The issue of conflict of interest is not unique to magistrates.

DN: How best can those challenges be overcome?
MG: I have in the last response partially answered this question. Just to add on;
l  Now that the Judicial Service Commission is a stand-alone institution and like I have already highlighted it has developed a 5-year Strategic Plan which identifies the major challenges and the possible solutions.  We now have a guiding beacon to tackle these challenges.
l Funding permitting we need to address the court infrastructural deficiencies — I am happy to say that this we have already initiated.
l  We have identified areas where the situation is untenable for example Guruve where we are using a house as a court and at Esigodini where we are renting a shop, which we share with other departments.  At Nkayi, we have more than seven members of staff sharing one office.
l  Through the Judicial Service Commission, we have embarked on a project of constructing pre-fabricated structures that we will use for court rooms and office accommodation.  So far we have identified ten (10) sites, Murambinda, Nyanga, Kadoma, Beitbridge, Zvishavane, Guruve, Esigodini, Norton, Tsholotsho and Mtoko.
l  We need to acquire appropriate equipment and furniture for use by court officers.  The ideal situation will be having e-libraries for magistrates to undertake necessary research so that they have easy access to case law and statutes.
l To avoid having members of public travelling long distances to access the nearest court, there is need to open more Resident Courts and circuit courts which is in line with one of our objectives in the Strategic Plan i.e. to take justice to the people.
l Training and human resources development is another major area identified as a strategic priority — again we have commenced this aspect earnestly.
l Equipping courts with modern equipment and provision of physical libraries is another strategic priority area which again we have commenced addressing within the available, albeit, limited resources.

DN: What changes or improvements have been noted since the migration of the employ of Public Service Commission to the Judicial Service Commission?
MG: Before answering our question it is important to clarify something.  You see Judicial Service Commission just like Public Service Commission is dependent on a budget from Treasury.  There is no magic involved in this self-evident matrix.  Once this is understood, it becomes easier to appreciate the seemingly slow but steady changes and improvements. The migration of magistrates, as you term it, from Public Service Commission to Judicial Service Commission has brought about a situation where unlike the erstwhile employer; Judicial Service Commission is there to exclusively administer the Judicial Services.  This has made it that much easier to the Judicial Service Commission to prioritise and dedicate its limited budget to those areas it considers will improve operational efficiency of the courts.
DN: How have magistrates benefited from that?
MG: Naturally if you look from the point of view of our mandate of justice delivery, magistrates and the entire staff have benefited.
But if your only focus is on conditions of service this might not appear to be the case.  I must hasten here to again emphasise that Judicial Service Commission just like its counterpart Public Service Commission gets its funding from Treasury and the limitations that currently exist from the small national cake, have a direct effect on the beneficiaries of that common basket – whether Judicial Service Commission or Public Service Commission or whatever other public employer.

DN: Are there any plans to improve the welfare of magistrates especially providing them with decent accommodation away from many criminals? 
MG: The notion that criminals are found in Highfield or Mbare for example but not in Borrowdale or Mt Pleasant is fundamentally flawed.
Anyway, to answer your question Judicial Service Commission has recognised the need to provide decent accommodation for not only magistrates but all members of the Judicial Services.  Funds permitting we would have wanted it by yesterday that all members are decently accommodated. I am however, happy to report that the process has started and as we speak Judicial Service Commission managed to secure 10 x Flats as institutional houses at the Willowvale Government project.  Ten (10) young members of the Judicial Service Commission have so far benefited.  Further we have been engaging with various local authorities around the country to be allocated residential stands to benefit our members both in the personal capacities and at institutional level.  In this regard we have done remarkably well.  These efforts are on-going.
DN: Can we safely magistrates are independent when they have poor salaries, hike public transport and are tenants in other peoples’ houses?
MG: Let me make it clear that magistrates are ordinary and equal citizens of Zimbabwe.  They live and will live amongst and with the community.  I would not have it any other way. Much as one would want them to have better conditions of service, this does not mean they should live in situations that completely detach them from the socio-economic environment of the country.
So in short Yes it is important to provide decent conditions of service including accommodation – but this must not be made a pre-requisite for independence and professionalism.  These two attributes are achievable in their own right.
DN: There was an incident where a magistrate was assaulted at the Harare Civil Court. How do you protect magistrates from such attacks considering they make judicial decisions daily?
MG: That was an isolated incident and should not be used as a yard-stick to measure the security of magistrates in the courts.  Thanks to our colleagues in the Zimbabwe Republic Police, courts are always manned by officers, whose role, amongst others is to provide the much needed security for magistrates.
DN: Magistrates have of late been picked up by police over judicial decisions made in the discharge of their duties. Is there any kind of protection against such arrests? 
MG: This question falls into the error of generalisation.  Before I answer it I think it is important to remind all in the media to avoid being inadvertently influenced by rumour, conjecture and sometimes speculation. It would have been more informative had you given specific examples in support of your question but as it stands it is too speculative.
So my answer to your question is that each case, if they exist, must be considered on its own merits.  Let us not forget that the laws of Zimbabwe in recognition of the potential for abusing authority provide in section 174 of the Criminal Codification Reform Act Chapter 9.23 an offence of criminal abuse of authority.  So if the alleged circumstances are such that they establish a reasonable suspicion of the occurrence of the offence, it would be wrong to say the police are wrong to arrest the suspect, even if that person happens to be a magistrate.
I want to emphasise that in the Judicial Service Commission we have zero tolerance for corruption.
DN: How relevant is the recently launched strategic plan for the judiciary to the magistrates?
MG:    I believe I answered this question at the beginning.  What I must emphasise is that the development of the Strategic Plan was an all inclusive exercise, the product of which is jointly owned by the whole Judicial Service Commission, including magistrates.
DN:    Can you briefly explain what the plan is all about?
MG:    The Strategic Plan stipulates the mandate, core values, vision, mission statement of Judicial Service Commission indicating where we are, where we want to be, and how we intend to get there.
The broad objective is to deliver world class justice to all manner of people.
DN: What challenges does the strategic plan seek to address?
MG: The Strategic Plan seeks to improve efficiency and effectiveness in justice delivery by judiciary.