Zimbabwe Judge President bemoans shortage of judges

JUDGE President Justice Mary Zimba-Dube yesterday bemoaned the shortage of judges in the country, saying it is creating a huge backlog of cases.

Speaking during the official opening of the legal year held at Chinhoyi High Court yesterday, Zimba-Dube said "judges are burdened with heavy workloads" at most stations across the country.

"The loss of these judges has also meant that the remaining High Court judges are burdened with heavy workloads, especially at Harare and Bulawayo High Courts. The compliment of judges was reduced in the past year from 40 to 37. We call for the recruitment of more judges in order to ensure smooth functioning of the High Court," she said.

On the performance of Chinhoyi High Court, Zimba-Dube said the Judicial Service Commission continues to witness increases in the workload due to an increase in the number of murder cases commuted in the province and mining disputes that come as urgent chamber applications.

"There is also an increase in the number of murder cases committed in the catchment area of the court noted is an increase in the number of mining disputes in this area which dominate the civil cases filed at the court," Zimba-Dube said.