Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
The newly-built magistrates court at Mutawatawa Business Centre illuminates Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) District and removes the need for residents to travel to other towns in search of justice. 
Victor Maphosa-Mashonaland East Bureau
PLANS to roll out Phase Four of the digitisation of courts by the Judicial Service Commission are at an advanced stage, JSC Secretary Mr Walter Chikwana has said.
He made the remarks at the commissioning of the state-of-the-art Mutawatawa Magistrates Court in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe District recently.
Mr Chikwana said phases 1, 2 and 3 were successfully executed and were done on all the superior courts, which are the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court, the Commercial Court, the Labour Court, the Administrative Court and the Office of the Sheriff. He said all these superior courts are now paperless.
“You can only access them through the digital platform and you can only file your court documents through the same digital platform,” he said.
“You can also participate in court proceedings through the virtual platform without necessarily attending court physically. This is the beauty of digitisation. This is the direction the entire world is moving towards, and Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to lag behind. During the course of this year, we now move into the fourth phase of the courts digitisation programme and this is the digitisation of all our magistrates courts, of which Mutawatawa is included.
“We are undertaking the process on a province-by-province basis, and we expect before June 2025 to have launched the IECMS in Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland North provinces. Preparations for the launch are already at an advanced stage. These preparations include intensive training of court officials and other stakeholders on the IECMS and intensive public awareness outreach in which we seek to interact with the public to let them know and accept what the IECMS is all about.
“Let me reiterate that the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) is the cornerstone of the Commission’s digital transformation agenda. It is intended to promote justice delivery for litigants and the public.”
Mr Chikwana said the commission is alive to the critical role played by stakeholder engagement in building vibrant structures for the complete rollout of the IECMS.
“On January 13, 2025, the Head of the Judiciary, Chief Justice Luke Malaba delivered remarks marking the opening of the 2025 Legal Year,” he said.
“The theme adopted in his remarks, which will also guide the operations of the judiciary throughout the year, is ‘Building Public Confidence in the Judiciary through Multi-Stakeholder Participation’. This theme underscores the reality that an effective justice system is not built in isolation.
“Stakeholder participation in the justice delivery system is necessary to implement strategic reforms that eradicate bottlenecks in the administration of justice. It therefore requires effective collaboration between the Judiciary, state institutions, law enforcement, legal practitioners, traditional leaders, and indeed the general public. In this regard, the Commission continues to embrace stakeholder engagement in the administration of justice. Presently, the Commission is engaging stakeholders in establishing vibrant structures for the complete rollout of the IECMS throughout all courts.
“The effective participation of stakeholders is necessary to build public confidence in the virtual platform in the Lower Courts. We recognise that stakeholders’ involvement is important for the public to have trust in the operations of the Judiciary,” he said.
He stated that the facilities at Mutawatawa Magistrates’ Court underscore the Commission’s acknowledgment of the significance of stakeholder involvement in fostering public trust. Construction of Mutawatawa Magistrates Court started three years ago. Before the completion of the court, officials used to conduct business in some small offices housed at the district Government complex at Mutawatawa Business Centre.
Magistrates used to travel from Murehwa for court cases. Now that is all a thing of the past, thanks to the Government’s decentralisation agenda.
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