Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is set to open six new courts before the end of the year as it accelerates the expansion of the justice delivery system, with particular focus on bringing courts closer to communities in high-density areas.
The programme includes new courts in Mabvuku, Harare; and Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, while major developments are also underway in Gwanda, Kwekwe, Beitbridge and Guruve.
JSC secretary Dr Walter Chikwana said the projects were part of broader efforts to improve access to justice by decentralising court services and responding to growing demand in areas where existing courts were under pressure.
“We have a construction project that is going on at Cowdray Park in Bulawayo. The court is at window level. We have a construction project that is going on at Mabvuku, a high-density suburb in Harare, where the court is now at roof level,” he said.
“We expect those two courts to be completed before the end of the year, and those two courts in those two townships will be opened.”
The JSC has already secured land for similar courts in Mkoba, Gweru; and Sakubva, Mutare, with construction expected to begin after the completion and commissioning of the Mabvuku and Cowdray Park facilities.
The biggest development is the multi-purpose Gwanda Court in Matabeleland South, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The facility, currently at roof level, will house the High Court, the Labour Court, the Sheriff’s Office and the Magistrates’ Court, making it one of the largest court complexes in the country.
“The court is at roof level and we expect the court to be completed by the end of this year. This is one of the biggest courts in the country,” Dr Chikwana said.
In the Midlands, the JSC is constructing a High Court division, while expanding the Magistrates’ Court in Kwekwe, with the project expected to be complete within the next two to three months.
In Beitbridge, the JSC is expanding the Provincial Court to accommodate additional magistrates as the border town experiences increasing litigation linked to its growing economic activity.
Dr Chikwana said the existing complement of two magistrates was no longer adequate.
“Beitbridge has become so busy it is no longer tenable to deploy two magistrates only. We need to deploy four magistrates in the provincial court and the regional court,” he said.
“We are completing the construction of an additional court at Beitbridge Provincial Court.”
The JSC is constructing a new regional court in Guruve as it expands judicial services outside the country’s major urban centres.
The commission is also investing in its own training facilities in a move expected to reduce the cost of staff development.
The Judicial Training Institute of Zimbabwe is constructing a 200-seater training theatre in Harare, which is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2027.
The facility will allow the JSC to conduct training programmes at its own premises instead of routinely hiring hotels and other external venues.
“We are constructing a 200-seater training theatre where all our trainings are going to be done. We will then cease to be booking hotels and expending money in training venues,” Dr Chikwana said.
“We will now be having a training centre of our own where all our members of staff will be trained.”
Dr Chikwana said construction was progressing and the commission was hopeful the facility would be completed by the first quarter of next year.
