Prosecutors urged to upgrade
JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has urged 64 non-degreed prosecutors in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to at least obtain a first law degree to save their jobs.
NPA has 143 degreed prosecutors and 64 others who hold diplomas from the Judicial College of Zimbabwe and other institutions.
The prosecution also works with a number of officers seconded from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services as well as others from the military.
Speaking at the inauguration of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) library in Harare yesterday, Minister Ziyambi said the new Constitution of Zimbabwe makes it a requirement for all prosecutors and law officers to possess a law degree.
The British Embassy yesterday handed over to the NPA, a fully-furnished library with an assortment of criminal law text books and other material useful to equip the prosecutors.
Chief Justice Luke Malaba, on behalf of the Judicial Service Commission, donated to the NPA bound volumes of the law reports that will next week be delivered to the prosecution’s library.
Although the ministry did not set any deadline for such upgrades, the minister encouraged the non-degreed staff to enrol for law degrees in compliance with the supreme law of the country.
“NPA is a creature of the new Constitution and when it was established, there were a number of non-degreed staff. In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe for one to prosecute, he or she must be a holder of a law degree.
“I am urging the Prosecutor General Advocate Ray Goba to ensure that all our law officers upgrade themselves in line with the Constitution. This will go a long way in enhancing the way we deliver justice,” said Minister Ziyambi.
British Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Simon Thomas said United Kingdom was committed to promoting rule of law and enhance access to justice for all in Zimbabwe.
Mr Thomas said his government was involved in a number of projects aimed at improving access to justice in Zimbabwe.
“Through this project, training was provided to Zimbabwean prosecutors with a view to increasing their capacity and understanding of their role in terms of human rights and international prosecutorial standards.
“I am delighted to say the trainings were immensely successful and I hope that they will go a long way in contributing to the improvement of Zimbabwe’s justice delivery system. Through TRACE, DFID is working on improving access to justice, especially for women and marginalised citizens,” he said.
Mr Thomas said thousands of women and other marginalised citizens have benefited from UK-sponsored legal aid.
“It is a key priority for the UK in Zimbabwe as part of our work on improving respect for human rights and democratic principles.
“Between March 2015 and June last year, civil society organisations supported through the UK-led multi-donor governance and human rights programme, handled or assisted 33 981 legal aid cases,” said Mr Thomas.
Prosecutor-General Adv Ray Goba hailed the library donation saying it would go a long way in improving the quality of arguments from his officers at court.
“Lawyers must, as a learned breed, read the law as contained in legal texts be they textbooks, statutes and law reports; understand the law in order to apply it to the facts of a particular case in order to justify a position taken and to persuade a judge accordingly.
“Without access to written texts and reports, the work of a lawyer becomes difficult and submissions made or advice rendered of little consequences as it can be dismissed on the simple basis that any person can give it,” said Adv Goba.
Adv Goba said plans were underway to set up libraries at the country’s 52 prosecuting stations.
“We are in the process of compiling a comprehensive l8ist of our requirements not only for this library but for subsidiary libraries we intend to set up at the 52 prosecuting stations that NPA operates countrywide,” he said.