Tomana raps corruption

Simbarashe Mudzivo Herald Reporter
Prosecutor-General Mr Johannes Tomana has said many prosecutions do not end in convictions because of rampant corruption in the judicial system. He told participants at an annual risk management seminar in Harare recently that an inefficient court system and corruption were hampering successful prosecution.

“Most unsuccessful convictions are a result of a deliberate failure in the administration of justice as officials would have accepted bribes from the accused persons,” Mr Tomana said.

Mr Tomana said there was need to improve remuneration of legal officers and to close administrative and other loopholes to effectively combat corruption.

“The cushioning of our personnel against temptations is paramount to the justice delivery system as officials are receiving bribes forgetting that their mandate is to serve the State,” he said.

Mr Tomana said professionalism should not be compromised to please influential people behind the scenes, and urged the public in general to desist from corrupt activities.

“Citizens should develop a culture of shunning corruption and avoid being disrespectful of their own laws by paying bribes to law enforcement agents,” he said. Peace Security Company chief executive officer Mr Abel Mubango said the seminar was to highlight crime trends and processes of dealing with criminals.

“We are working on ways to minimise risks by being more proactive than reactive so that we prevent crime from taking place,” he said.
Some legal experts said there was lack of a clear system to protect witnesses and discourage prosecutors from bribery, a development that they said fuelled corruption in the judiciary.