Story by Fairstars Mukungurutse
THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has sworn in 12 new magistrates at the Harare Magistrates Court this Friday, amid calls for transparency and accountability in the delivery of justice.
Briefing the media after presiding over the ceremony, Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro underscored the crucial role of the new magistrates towards efficient justice delivery.
“The Judicial Service Commission is on a deliberate strategic push to ensure that we continue decentralising and making sure that we have courts in so many districts around Zimbabwe. So they are coming to add to the magistrates that we already have and assist in the elimination of the case backlog. As of today, with their addition, we now have 253 magistrates who can sit in our courts and preside over cases.”
The chief magistrate also cautioned the newly-recruited magistrates against engaging in corrupt practices.
“Judicial officers are accountable to the people of Zimbabwe, they occupy the public office so they are not supposed to engage in corrupt activities. We have the Code of Ethics for judicial officers which regulates the conduct of judicial officers and then we have the Complaints Procedure in the Judicial Service Commission.
“We encourage members of the public to come and give us any information of magistrates engaging in corrupt activities and we are ever ready to deal with such judicial officers because they are accountable.”
The development marks a significant step towards the fulfilment of the Judicial Service Commission’s mandate of ensuring access to justice for all, as the JSC continues to open more courts countrywide to bring services closer to communities.
