Seventeen new magistrates were sworn in on Wednesday in Harare, as the judiciary moves to ease mounting pressure on courts amid a nationwide shortage of judicial officers.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro Muchuchuti said the latest intake comprising 12 men and five women will be deployed across the country to strengthen the bench under the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The development comes as Zimbabwe's magistracy remains below optimal capacity, with only about 268 magistrates currently in post against a required establishment of 300.
"We witnessed the swearing in of 17 magistrates, they will be deployed to various stations throughout the country and indeed we continue to capacitate our courts in terms of recruiting more magistrates so that it can balance with the workload which is there," Guwuriro said.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
She noted that the courts are grappling with a surge in cases, placing significant strain on existing personnel.
"We have realised that we are receiving a lot of work so we are trying to match that work with the number of magistrates on the bench," she said.
Guwuriro revealed that authorities are already preparing another group of magistrates for deployment as part of ongoing efforts to plug the staffing gap and address attrition within the system.
"We actually have another group of magistrates which are waiting to graduate in due time, we are doing these deliberate recruitments to strengthen the bench and also cover the brain drain which we have," she said.
"Some magistrates are leaving the bench, so we are trying to correct those imbalances to ensure that courts remain operational throughout the country."
The Chief Magistrate also highlighted performance monitoring measures within the judiciary, saying each magistrate is expected to meet set case completion targets.
"We have several measurement tools to assess the work of the magistrate... we have daily, weekly and monthly reports," she said.
"We have a target, each magistrate should complete at least 60 cases a month, all those measuring tools are meant for us to see who is working and who is not."
The latest appointments are part of broader efforts by the JSC to improve efficiency in the justice delivery system and ensure timely handling of cases amid growing demand.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
