Prison officers thrown out of court

TWO noisy prison officers operating at the Gwanda Magistrates Court were yesterday booted out of court by a magistrate as they disturbed court proceedings.

The two female prison officers, whose names could not be immediately established, were thrown out of the court by magistrate Sheila Nazombe as they kept whispering to each other during the court  session.

The officers also made noise as they flipped paper after paper, a move that eventually annoyed the magistrate who ordered them out of the court.

"Officers, is there a problem? What is the problem?" asked Nazombe looking at the two prison officers.

"Please get out, get out," Nazombe ordered.

Within a blink of the eye, the 'noisy' prison officers had disappeared from the court.

"Can you please tell your officer-in-charge to bring people who are willing to work," Nazombe told another officer.

She then ordered another prison officer who was seated at the gallery to take the position of the booted out officers.

The role of prison officers in court is to supervise the prisoners who would be appearing before the  court.

The prison officers are also supposed to quickly deal with unexpected situations if they arise in court.

Chronicle has observed on several occasions that some prison officers at Gwanda Magistrates Court sometimes doze off or sleep during court sessions.

One of the prison officers threatened to deny this reporter entry into the courtroom if the story of the booted prison officers was published.

"If you write anything about us, we will block you from entering the court room," said the male prison officer.