Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
After restoring public trust through just, effective, and timely prosecution of cases in 2024, this year, the National Prosecuting Authority is targeting the promotion of prosecutorial excellence and efficacy.
Yesterday, Prosecutor General Loice Matanda-Moyo read her 2025 Strategic Direction Address in the capital.
“As Public Prosecutors, we will reaffirm our commitment to upholding justice, promoting prosecutorial excellency and enhancing efficacy in our profession.
“The theme resonates well with our vision of ensuring a just, safe and peacefulsociety by 2030.
“It is our duty to uphold the law, protect the vulnerable, and ultimately ensure that justice is served.
“Where justice is served, society will be content, which society will readily accept and respect the court’s rulings.
“To achieve prosecutorial excellence and efficacy, we must prioritize professionalism, be innovative, be accountable and we must collaborate with other stakeholders.
“Our collaboration, communication and coo-operation (3Cs) amongst stakeholders can be overemphasized and is key to achieving prosecutorial excellency.
“The stakeholders in the criminal justice system are of equal importance, no one is more important than the other because each one plays its own assigned function to complement the other stakeholders.
“We all cooperate and collaborate for the achievement of the common purpose of ensuring the proper functions of an effective and efficient justice delivery system.
“If the system functions well the public will have confidence in it.
“It is also important that we focus on effective case management, we must prioritize cases, manage workload effectively and ensure timely resolution of matters.
“I am aware that last year we adopted these strategies but let us improve on the strategies and ensure that we adopt effective case management systems. Where there is fairness and justice, the public will align with and abide by court decisions.”
She added that, in the eyes of the public, justice is served where the guilty are punished, but when the courts start punishing the innocent acquitting those who are guilty, the results will show as they will have a negative impact on society.
“There will be high crime rate as those who commit offences will constantly be released into society and offered an opportunity to re-offend. Therefore, it is very important that we do justice as Public Prosecutors when executing our duties.”
She urged prosecutors to live, dream and enjoy prosecution.
“Gone are the days where prosecutors used to grab a docket without even looking at it and dash into court and leave everything to the presiding officers.
“Prosecutors must realise that they control the direction and outcomes of all criminal cases through their actions.
“Therefore, with such a huge role to play in the criminal justice delivery system and in order to fulfil that mandate prosecutors must be sound in criminal law and decision making.
“Prosecutors must prepare for court, we must engage each other thus working as a team. “Debate issues, let’s argue matters amongst ourselves before court date, must love research, love knowledge.
“Prosecutorial excellence must begin in making decisions on which cases to prosecute and extend to charges to prefer, attending to preliminary issues, conducting trials, responding to interlocutory applications raised amongst others.
“We do have a complaints handling department, let us learn from complaints raised by stakeholder’s clients and members of the public. Let us incorporate ideas and advice from stakeholders and the public,” she added.
She further gave a breakdown of the Authority’s statistical performance in the 2024 year.
The overall performance rate was 67,9 %.
“The clearance rate for 2024 is slightly lower than that of 2023 which was 71.83%. “Mashonaland Central, Masvingo and Bulawayo reported that some Courts have no Magistrates due mainly to transfers and resignations.
“The issue was brought to the attention of the relevant Institution, and it is hoped that in 2025 a higher clearance rate will be achieved.”
Bongani Ndlovu