Source: Magistrates’ ‘undue’ postponement of cases slammed – DailyNews Live
Tarisai Machakaire 20 March 2017
HARARE – Chief magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe has castigated the
“unjustified” unnecessary postponement of cases, saying it leads to delays
in justice delivery.
This comes as lawyers have often complained about endless and willy-nilly
deferment of cases by the courts.
“Remanding and postponing matters must be justified in terms of the law,”
Guvamombe said during the swearing-in ceremony of three trainee
magistrates last week.
“Postponement of cases without justification builds unnecessary backlogs,”
he said, adding “it is a requirement of proper administration of justice
that cases are finalised expeditiously”.
“Out of court duties such as checking of books of accounts, various
registers and exhibits is part of your work and you must diligently
execute those tasks. I wish to remind you that a magistrate’s court is one
of record and everything that happens must be reduced to writing,” he
said.
Guvamambe further said magistrates must not always pass jail sentences,
but consider non-custodial terms to encourage criminal offenders to
rehabilitate.
He said the motive is to rehabilitate offenders, not punish.
“As a magistrate, you wield a lot of power. Do not rush to imprison people
for trivial offences. Imprisonment should only be a sentence of last
resort,” Guvamombe said.
“There are other sentencing options at your disposal which you must
explore first,” he said.
“We are beginning to see the fruits of our formal and on-the-job training.
We expect you to produce quality judgments and rulings and for that to
happen, you must consult law reports,” Guvamombe said.
The recently sworn-in magistrates are Perseverance Nkala, Amanda Muridzo
and Isabel Nyoni, who all completed training in the civil and criminal
courts divisions.
Guvamombe also urged the magistrates to shun and resist corruption for a
credible justice delivery system.
“Corruption is a cancer that has permeated all facets of society. If it is
allowed to take root in the judiciary it can undermine justice delivery by
denying justice to litigants. I urge you to resist it in whatever form it
may be exposed to you,” Guvamombe added.
“I also wish to state that if you are caught engaging in corruption the
consequences are clear and very predictable. In that same vein I urge
members of the public and all stakeholders not to tempt our magistrates
with bribes.”
Law Society of Zimbabwe president Misheck Hogwe echoed similar sentiments,
saying corruption would make society lose trust in the justice system.
“Hard work has no substitute for success in this profession without
diligence you expose yourself to unscrupulous litigants. Corruption sets
in and the trust reposed in you by the public evaporates,” he said.
“…once the public’s confidence in the bench declines it will be
difficult to restore. People will seek alternative means of resolving
disputes and this leads to the breakdown of the rule of law,” Hogwe said.
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