BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA
CABINET has approved principles of the Witness Protection Bill which seeks to establish legislation for witness protection, Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said at a post-Cabinet briefing yesterday.
“The nation is informed that the Witness Protection Bill seeks to fill the gap in the law by establishing legislation to provide for witness protection in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Mutsvangwa said the Bill would relieve the police of the burden of protecting witnesses.
“Cabinet reports that the purpose of the Bill is to provide for the establishment of an office that caters for the protection and placement of witnesses under temporary, interim and permanent protection. The Bill seeks to regulate the powers, functions and duties of the office. Furthermore, the Bill will establish the necessary procedures and measures on how witnesses are put into the witness protection programme.”
Mutsvangwa said Cabinet also approved the Prisons and Correctional Services Bill which seeks to modernise the country’s prisons to meet regional and international standards.
“This includes focusing on restorative justice through rehabilitation rather than incarceration of offenders. The Prisons and Correctional Services Act will ensure that the prison system caters for the needs of the vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, juvenile offenders as well as persons with disability and other special categories in society that have special needs,” she said.
“Cabinet advises that the parole system will be broadened to provide for the eligibility of every prisoner to apply for parole regardless of the nature of the sentences they are serving. The legislation will provide for the establishment of correctional community centres throughout the country which will essentially be open prisons.”
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According to Mutsvangwa, the legislation also seeks to promote community involvement in the rehabilitation of inmates to ensure that “prisoners will not face difficulties and hostilities in being accepted back into their communities and within their families”.
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