Bulawayo (New Ziana)-Courts are taking the fight against corruption seriously as failure to do so may result in the public losing confidence in the criminal justice system, a senior official has said.
Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza said this while presiding over the official opening of the 2023 Legal Year held in Bulawayo.
The event was held under the theme: Promoting competence and quality of service to enhance public confidence in the judiciary system to enhance public confidence.
Justice Gwaunza said the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) was working hard to fight corruption which was slowing down national development.
“Currently there are 147 corruption related cases pending in the courts. Of these, 89 are either in progress or have been finalised, with 16 cases having trial dates, whilst for 52 cases trials have commenced. 21 cases have already been finalized,” said Justice Gwaunza.
She said the statistics did not indicate a country that was not taking the fight against corruption seriously, but that arresting agents and prosecution agencies were busy at work.
The remarks were being made because the impression sought to be created was that there was no activity in the courts in respect of corruption cases, she said.
“The cynical suggestion had been that courts were involved in a conspiracy arrangement with the other State agents in the criminal justice system to release persons accused of corruption in what is called a “catch and release” phenomenon,” she said.
Justice Gwaunza said when a person has been arrested, he or she is entitled to bail as of right unless there are compelling reasons not to grant bail.
She said when a person accused of a crime was released on bail, that was a legal and constitutionally provided for process, not to be derogatively dismissed as a “catch and release” procedure.”
Institutions in the criminal justice system need to ensure that cases of corruption are properly investigated, prosecuted and adjudicated upon and speedily finalized in court, she explained.
Public confidence in the justice system was a goal of justice delivery and members of the Judicial Service should always understand that the quality of the service rendered to court users was measured by the outcomes of the conduct of the service provider, said Justice Gwaunza.
“There should be some consciousness on the part of members of the Judicial Service on what the public demands of them in the delivery of justice and the need to perform to those expectations.”
New Ziana
