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Zvikomborero Parafini
THE National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) has dismissed claims of ‘catch and release’ saying prosecuting anti-corruption is a process
In an interview on ZTN Prime’s Morning Rush, Harare district provincial prosecutor Tafara Chirambira said the NPA is on top of the game as far as fighting crime is concerned, having already surpassed last year’s trials and conviction records at the Harare Magistrates Court – the largest court in Zimbabwe
Chirambira said the Prosecutor General’s vision was now in full swing and the results were there for everyone to see
Chirambira added that the NPA has assigned senior prosecutors to deal with serious crimes like murder, armed robberies, illicit financial dealings, drugs, and human trafficking
“We have assigned our best personnel on the ground and I am happy to announce and to tell the country that so far the results have been coming in quick and fast
“We continue to encourage members of the public to also be cooperative and to also play their part in helping us assist in protecting them,” he said
Commenting on corruption cases, Chirambira blamed the media for creating the ‘catch and release’ phenomenon saying prosecuting corruption cases was a process
He revealed that they have completed 42 corruption cases in Harare since the beginning of the year
“That is an increase because last year we only had 30 for the whole year. This year, up to now, we have completed 42 of them. And the conviction rate in corruption cases is approximately 53 percent.
“So to me, that is a pass. It’s just above average, but we will continue improving
“If we can complete 42 cases just in Harare district alone, I would wonder and I am very eager to see or to hear how much as a country we have managed to succeed and how much as the NPA we have managed to do so that we gain the confidence of the people that we serve,” he said.
On cases involving financial illicit dealings, Chirambira indicated that Harare district recorded about 12 percent completion on trials with a ‘slightly above 90 percent conviction rate’.
On average, convicted people were sentenced to between three to six months.
He indicated that Harare district dealt with 358 cases involving touts and all have been convictions because they pleaded guilty
On drugs, he said they received 96 cases this year involving marijuana, crystal meth, and cocaine
Out of the 96 cases, 80 resulted in convictions, while 16 cases are pending.
On human trafficking, he indicated that they have prosecuted four human trafficking matters
Commenting on social media reports by some legal practitioners and activists accusing the prosecution of trembling on accused persons’ rights by ‘unnecessarily’ opposing the granting of bail, Chirambira said:
“If you come across these allegations, does that come to the attention of the NPA? Yes, yes. We have a case.
“We are on social media, just like you, just like everyone else, we then learnt that we saw pictures and we were told that there’s a schoolchild that is amongst, I think it was initially a group of 77 individuals who had been arrested for whatever misdemeanour
“And what we then did as the NPA is we took an active role and we actually sent the investigating officers to say, can you investigate this? The investigating officer has brought about results in the process of seeing how we can assist a schoolchild
“It’s unfortunate that you see, the law is played out in court. It’s not played out on social media.”
Online Reporter