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Judicial Service Commission makes new appointments

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THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has made some changes in its secretariat in a bid to improve justice delivery in the country

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has made some changes in its secretariat in a bid to improve justice delivery in the country.

FELUNA NLEYA STAFF REPORTER

Sources told NewsDay that the JSC which is chaired by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has appointed Constitutional Court Chief Registrar Walter Chikwana to serve as deputy secretary.

Chikwana takes over from Rex Shana who had been holding the position for several years.

Shana has been redeployed to the Judicial College of Zimbabwe where he assumes the position of Principal which he once held before the closure of the institution seven years ago.

The sources also said JSC has appointed Deputy Chief Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi to take over as the Chief Registrar of the Constitutional Court a position which was held by Chikwana before his promotion.

Although JSC acting secretary Rita Makarau could not confirm the appointment of Chikwana and Mutevedzi as her mobile phone went unanswered, she confirmed Shana’s redeployment through a statement posted on the JSC website.

Makarau said Shana had been reassigned following the resuscitation of the Judicial College.

“Whilst the resuscitation of the College has necessitated the re-deployment of Mr Rex Shana back to his position of Principal of the College, we see this not as a loss to the Judicial Service Commission where he was a very able Deputy Secretary, but as a gain to the entire justice delivery system,” reads the statement on the JSC website.

“We have no doubt that under his leadership; the Judicial College of Zimbabwe will add value to the entire chain of justice delivery in Zimbabwe by co-ordinating and arranging the training needs of all the key-players. We are confident that Mr Shana will come up with viable strategies that will restore the Judicial College to its days of glory.”

In the statement Makarau said the board of the Judicial College had resolved at a meeting held on Tuesday last week to resuscitate the institution with immediate effect.

“Stakeholders will recall that the Judicial College went into dormancy some seven years ago when the donor funding that was sustaining it dried up and Treasury could not fund it adequately,” the statement reads.

“The drying up of the funding also meant the drying up of a vital service that the College was offering especially regarding the training of magistrates.” “We in the Judicial Service Commission are therefore beside ourselves with excitement at the prospect of having a fully functioning Judicial College. This development comes at an opportune time when the magistracy has almost cleared the backlog of cases that used to be the order of the day in those courts.

“Magistrates can now turn to improving their skills in preparation for higher offices and this is where the Judicial College will come in handy.”

One of JSC’s functions is to tender advice to the President on appointments to certain posts specified in the Constitution, including the appointment of judges. The JSC’s other function is to employ all persons within the

judicial service and to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the judiciary.