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Herald Reporter
Prosecutor General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi yesterday led his officers to get Covid-19 booster shots, as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) takes a leading role in protecting its workers and the public it serves.
President Mnangagwa and several Cabinet ministers have already received their booster Covid-19 vaccine shots to lead the process from the front, showing the safety and simplicity of the process.
Speaking after receiving a booster shot in Harare yesterday, Mr Hodzi said it was imperative that the prosecutors who are frontline workers receive the jabs as they are mandated to always be available to ensure the rule of law and justice delivery system continues, which means that prosecutors meet a lot of people.
Mr Hodzi said the NPA suffered terribly from the new Omicron variant.
“A total of 48 prosecutors countrywide tested positive to Covid-19 between November and December last year despite the fact that we have received the double vaccination.
“It is against this background that the Prosecutor General’s office decided as a matter of strategy after consultation with relevant stakeholders and partners in the executive to have prosecutors and cooperating partners to have booster jabs,” he said.
Prosecutors always interact with the public in fighting crime and corruption in particular, hence the need to fully protect them and the public from any possible contraction of Covid-19.
“As the prosecutors we are receiving booster shots thanks to the decision of the Executive and Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“The booster shots were also necessitated by the fact that we are frontline workers whose mandate of fighting crime necessitates that we always be available and interacting with members of the public.”
Mr Hodzi said Covid-19 emergency had been a challenge in that a number of essential services had been compromised.
“The rule of law, provision of law and order as well as the justice delivery system has to continue even in an abnormal situation,” he said.
Mr Hodzi said despite some higher level lockdowns and suspension of court sittings the arrests and processing of accused persons continued.
“When the first and second lockdowns were suspended the prosecutors had to clear a huge backlog of cases and they did a sterling job. This was a sterling job carried out by the judicial officers, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Mr Hodzi urged the citizens to embrace the ongoing massive vaccination programme so that no one is left behind.
Online Reporter