By Harriet Chikandiwa
The Judicial Service Commission yesterday swore-in eight new magistrates, seven of them female, in a move that acting Chief Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi said would ease the backlog of cases before the courts.
Those sworn-in were Charity Mutonongera, Vavariro Gavi, Patricia Kamanda, Tamara Chivindi, Nomagugu Maposa, Grace Tupiri, Samukelisiwe Gumbo and one man, Chiuta Dube.
Mutevedzi said the magistrates were appointed after a rigorous selection and induction process.
“We believe that the new magistrates will assist in the backlog of cases. We used to have an alarming number of cases, but it’s now a thing of the past,” he said. Justifying the recruitment, Mutevedzi said: “We have more female magistrates than males because they are more females who are enrolling in law school and they are doing really well.”
Mutevedzi said he believed the magistrates were ready for the task ahead and will not experiment with people’s lives.
