Prosecutor-General Loice Matanda-Moyo has issued a strong warning against weak prosecutions, declaring that justice not convictions, must define the work of the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ).

Speaking at the official opening of a Superior Courts Appeals procedures training in Harare, Matanda-Moyo said prosecutors must meet a higher constitutional standard and abandon practices that delay or undermine justice.

"We do not seek convictions; we seek just outcomes," she said. "The Prosecutor must always be right, and the Prosecutor must be fair."

She stressed that prosecutors carry a heavier burden than defence lawyers, as they represent the public interest rather than individual clients.

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"The defence must be zealous... But the Prosecutor operates within a professional straitjacket. We do not choose our clients; we serve the public interest," she said.

Underscoring the non-partisan nature of the office, Matanda-Moyo said prosecutors are not political actors and must serve all Zimbabweans equally.

"We wear only one coat, and it only has two colors: black and white... We do not represent any partisan interest or political faction," she said. "We represent the Constitution and the 16 million people of Zimbabwe."

Matanda-Moyo warned that incompetence and delays in prosecution erode public confidence in the justice system.

"When we fail... when we lose cases we should have won, when we delay justice through ignorance we do not simply lose a file. We erode public trust. We make a mockery of the scales of justice."

The training brings together prosecutors and private legal practitioners, with senior advocates volunteering to train State lawyers. She described their participation as "selfless service to the nation."

The Prosecutor-General added that wrongful convictions are equally unacceptable.

"Sending an innocent person to jail is exactly the same moral failure as acquitting a guilty one. Both are a failure of justice."

Zimbabwe's justice delivery system has faced criticism over delays and quality of prosecutions. Matanda-Moyo said reforms, including training and digitalisation, are aimed at producing "a new breed of prosecutor."