Magistrates resume work

resumed duty yesterday as negotiations to find a solution to their plight continue.
It was business as usual at the magistrates’ courts in and around Harare.
Magistrates were remanding cases that had been disrupted by the strike to later dates.
At the Civil Courts, magistrates heard cases that had been set for yesterday.
In an interview one magistrate said: “We are back at work but we are only attending to cases that were set for today, (Friday).
“The matters that were supposed to be heard from Monday to Thursday will get new dates,” she said.
At the Mbare Courts, a prosecutor said business would be at full-throttle on Monday.
The strike was called off on Wednesday at the same time that Government agreed to review public service salaries in June, with the least paid worker expected to get double the US$128 they are currently earning.
The negotiations, bringing together the Judicial Services Commission, the Chief Magistrates and the Magistrates Association of Zimbabwe, met on Wednesday and agreed that officers should report for work as soon as possible.
The parties said they were concerned by the plight of the public that was disadvantaged by the strike.
Suspects arrested by police were not going to court resulting in congestion in holding cells.
At law, suspects have a right to be brought before a magistrate within 48 hours of being arrested.