Harare — THE wheels of justice have ground to a halt as a strike by magistrates and other judiciary officers to press for better remuneration and conditions of service spreads countrywide.

The strike, which began last week when magistrates boycotted the courts, has spread after other judiciary staff joined the industrial action.

Government's offer of a basic monthly salary of $141 million for regional magistrates and $29 million for provincial magistrates has been rejected.

As a result of the work stoppage, suspects are being held in police cells for long periods, a lawyer at the Rotten Row Magistrates' Courts said yesterday.

At the Harare High Court, only civil cases were being handled, officials said.

Beatrice Mtetwa, president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which represents lawyers in private practice, said the society's members had been seriously affected by the strike.

"It is proving costly for clients as lawyers are spending precious time in the courts where nobody is attending to them," said Mtetwa.

"Our members were caught unawares, but when we embarked on our public demonstrations a few months ago, we had the courtesy to inform government workers of our impending action. It is creating a serious backlog in a situation where there is already a long-standing backlog."

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) echoed the concerns over the crippling strike, calling on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa to address the grievances of the striking magistrates, prosecutors and support staff.

"Those already in prison cannot be released and trials have had to be postponed," said Innocent Gonese, legal secretary in the Morgan Tsvangirai camp of the MDC.

"Justice delayed is justice denied and the people who will suffer the most are accused persons who are presumed innocent until proven guilty."

Chinamasa could not immediately comment yesterday.