Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike-Senior Reporter
SIXTEEN magistrates’ courts in Manicaland and Mashonaland East are set to be digitised under Phase 4.3 of the Integrated Electronic Case Management System starting Monday.
The digitisation of courts started with Phase 1 in May 2022, which saw the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and the Commercial Division of the High Court being automated.
Phase 2 was launched in February 2023, expanding to the Labour Court and Administrative Court, while Phase 3 saw the automation of the General Division of the High Court and the Sheriff’s Office.
Phase 4 of the implementation programme saw magistrates’ courts being digitised in stages across the provinces.
“On Monday, June 1, 2026, all the 16 magistrates’ court stations in Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces will go live. We started the preparations last year and all is now set for the digitisation of the courts in the two provinces.
“Training of staff and other stakeholders was successfully done and all the required equipment was procured and installed,” said Judicial Service Commission spokesperson Mr Daniel Nemukuyu.
Mr Nemukuyu said the JSC started preparing for the digitisation programme last year and undertook public awareness campaigns across districts in the two provinces.
“We started the preparations last year and all is now set for the digitisation of the courts in the two provinces.
“We had a publicity blitz in the past few weeks where JSC staff distributed fliers and interacted with people in the two provinces ahead of the implementation,” he said.
Mr Nemukuyu said after Mashonaland East and Manicaland, the programme would move to Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces.
“Soon after the implementation of IECMS Phase 4.3 (Manicaland and Mashonaland East), we will immediately move into Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces under Phase 4.4 of IECMS.
“We will start preparations for the digitisation of all the magistrates’ courts in the two provinces, but the implementation date is yet to be announced,” he said.
Mr Nemukuyu said unstable internet connectivity was among the major challenges during the early stages of implementing the IECMS.
He said some lawyers and individuals using the system had not invested adequately in internet services and gadgets, resulting in challenges during virtual court proceedings.
“They had challenges in attending virtual hearings due to poor connectivity and lack of gadgets. There were also disruptions of virtual hearings in the High Court due to the increased number of concurrent hearings. We later realised that the High Court was very busy and all hearings could not be done at one go,” he said.
Mr Nemukuyu said the JSC has since installed two internet links per station for courts using IECMS and established e-filing centres for litigants without gadgets.
He said internet hubs had also been set up at larger court stations to cater for those requiring free Wi‑Fi and gadgets for filing cases and attending virtual hearings.
“JSC has also increased the number of concurrent sessions in the superior courts, and we also established a scheduling office to ensure all cases are heard without congesting the system,” he said. Mashonaland West, Midlands, Bulawayo, Harare South and Harare North are the only provinces yet to be digitised.
