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Masvingo records 25% increase in murder cases

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MASVINGO Province last year recorded a 25% increase in murder cases, High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa said yesterday, quoting statistics supplied by police.

MASVINGO Province last year recorded a 25% increase in murder cases, High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa said yesterday, quoting statistics supplied by police.

By Tatenda Chitagu

Most of the cases were cold-blooded killings over petty issues involving use of knives and other lethal weapons.

Officially opening the two-week Masvingo High Court circuit, Justice Musakwa said such a sad trend contributed to the huge backlog of untried murder cases.

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“It has come to my notice that police statistics reveal that there was an increase in murder cases by 25% within the province in 2015,” he said.

“I am informed that there are 83 outstanding matters for this circuit court. Factoring an average clearance rate of 20 cases per year, it would take about four years to have the outstanding cases cleared. You then have to factor in new cases coming up.”

He said this called for decentralisation of the High Court.

“This then underscores the need for a permanent court here. A permanent court also enhances access to justice as parties will not have to travel inordinately long distances and spend a lot of time away from their families and undertakings,” Justice Musakwa said.

He urged people to avoid yielding to anger and resorting to violence.

Masvingo previously topped the charts countrywide for all the wrong reasons, after having the highest murder cases two years in a row.

The province is to be the first beneficiary of the decentralisation exercise as the inaugural permanent High Court is set to be opened soon, with renovations of the building to house the court at an advanced stage.

The High Court will be at the building which formerly housed the Civil Court.