Special courts to handle soaring murder cases in Midlands

Nyore Madzianike

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will set up two special circuit courts in Midlands to expedite the hearing of over 150 murder cases out of the 308 that are pending in the province.

Five High Court judges will be deployed to preside over the special circuit courts, which will sit in Gweru and Gokwe from September 9 to 27.

This comes as the High Court prepares to open for its third term on September 9.

A total of 90 murder cases are scheduled for trial in Gweru, while 60 others will be heard in Gokwe.

The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) envisages that this initiative will significantly reduce the backlog of murder cases in the Midlands province.

Deputy Prosecutor-General Mr Justin Uladi said the absence of a permanent High Court in Gokwe necessitated the establishment of a circuit court.

“It was established that there was a huge backlog of murder cases in Midlands and there is no permanent High Court there,” he said.

“In order to deal with the backlog, three judges are set to sit in Gweru and two judges in Gokwe circuit courts.

“This is a first of its kind and remember there is no High Court in Gokwe, but measures have to be taken to arrest the situation of the backlog.”

Each judge is expected to handle 30 cases during the period.

“We have set down 30 cases for each judge, hoping they will complete the cases within the three weeks. As you know, trials are not predictable as many issues may arise along the way,” he said.

Among the high-profile cases scheduled for trial is that of ex-fugitive Peter Dube, who is facing two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Dube is accused of shooting two people dead and injuring two others before fleeing the country. Another notable case involves Cai Yulong, a Chinese national charged with murder, attempted murder and assault following a mining dispute.

Cai is accused of shooting artisanal miners at Blackhand Belle Mine in Zhombe, Kwekwe. NPAZ spokesperson Ms Angeline Munyeriwa said witness quarters had been secured in both Gweru and Gokwe.

“The police have already been roped in,” she said.

“They are on the ground serving witnesses (with subpoenas) to appear in court and locating accused persons. Witness quarters have been secured for both Gweru and Gokwe and witnesses’ expenses and other logistics are also being finalised . . .

“The Prosecutor-General, Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo, reached out to the Chief Justice (Luke Malaba) just before the Easter Holiday so that a way could be found.

“So, as a result of the discussion, the JSC has provided five judges for the circuit court in Midlands to run for three weeks.”

Separately, the NPAZ has completed dockets for 344 murder cases set to be heard at the High Court in Harare, which also covers Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East provinces.

Forty cases have so far been set down for trial during the forthcoming term.

In Bulawayo, the NPAZ has completed 234 dockets, with 54 ready to go for trial.

The Bulawayo High Court also covers Matabeleland South province.

A total of 87 dockets have been prepared for hearings before the Hwange circuit court, with 14 ready for trial.

For the Chinhoyi High Court, 81 dockets have been prepared, with 30 having been set down for trial. In the Mutare High Court, 25 murder cases are set to be heard during the third term out of the 92 dockets the NPAZ has. The Masvingo High Court has set down 27 murder trials from the 105 dockets received from the NPAZ.

“The oldest dockets in our possession go as far back as 2016,” said Ms Munyeriwa

“Kindly note that most of the murder cases are taking place in areas with artisanal miners in Midlands and Matabeleland South, and also murders committed during the course of robbery, domestic violence and beer-drinking brawls.”