Masvingo murder cases backlog stands at 856

difficult to successfully try the cases.
Officially opening the Masvingo High Court legal year, Justice Karwi called for the de-centralising of the High Court.
He said more than 60 of the murder cases go beyond a decade.
“I am informed that the province has a cumulative backlog of 856 murder cases and of these cases the highest number is from Bikita with 165 murder cases, followed by Zaka with 142 cases, Mwenezi with 129, Chiredzi 120, Chivi 34, Triangle 13, Gutu 10,Chatsworth 6 and Mashava 3.
“This huge backlog is a source of very serious concern to us and a dim picture of this backlog is painted if one analyses it,” he said.
Justice Karwi said the situation was worsened by the fact that some of the cases were committed way back in 2000.
“Out of the outstanding 856 murder cases, there are 24 cases which were committed in the year 2000, 19 in 2001, 21 in 2002, 27 in 2003 . . . (and) this means that there are more than 60 murder cases pending which are more than ten years old.
“The problem which is inherent in such old cases is that witnesses may either lose interest in giving evidence or if they give evidence they may forget what transpired, some witnesses even die with the passage of time.”
Jastice Karwi singled out Chiredzi and Zaka districts as two of the most violent districts in the province judging by the high number of murder and rape cases in those two districts.
He also lamented the increased backlog of rape cases with 116 cases not yet tried in the province.
Justice Karwi said de-centralising the courts to provinces and regional courts to districts will go a long way in easing the backlog.
“The regional court should bedecentralised to places like Zaka, Chiredzi, Mwenezi and Gutu and such courts should be set up on a permanent basis with regional mgistrates serving those centres, equally the High Court should be decentralised to the provincial capital of Masvingo where a resident judge would serve the whole province.”
He said many African countries had started decentralizing their courts to bring the justice system to the people.
He hailed the establishment of the Judicial Services Commission for improving the conditions of service for judges and the magistracy in a short space of time.
He however called for the review of capital punishment in Zimbabwe.
Among the dignitaries who witnessed the High Court official opening included Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Titus Maluleke, Government officials and lawyers.