HARARE – The swearing-in of three new High Court judges has exposed the scale of Zimbabwe’s deepening judicial staffing crisis, with authorities conceding the appointments are only a temporary fix to mounting pressure on an overstretched bench.
Former Labour Court judges Custom Kachambwa, Doreen Hove and Lawrence Masimba Murasi took their oaths this week as High Court judges, as the judiciary scrambles to keep pace with expanding court infrastructure and a growing population.
Judicial Service Commission (JSC) executive secretary Walter Chikwanha said the move was driven by urgent operational needs rather than long-term capacity building.
“They are coming in to add some numbers. When the Chief Justice opened the legal year he mentioned that we are opening a division of the High Court in Kwekwe… and also Gwanda is going to be opened before the end of the year,” said Chikwanha.
“This recruitment is to make sure that judges are available.”
The trio is expected to be deployed to the soon-to-open Kwekwe High Court, part of a broader decentralisation programme aimed at improving access to justice. However, Chikwanha acknowledged the intervention falls far short of what is required.
“The numbers have not changed, we have about 80 judges. We had to take judges from the Labour Court so that they cover this urgent gap,” he said.
“Our numbers, both magistrates and judges, are very few. The population has grown phenomenally but we have not increased the bench.”
He revealed that magistrate numbers have remained stagnant at around 250 for over a decade, while judicial recruitment has largely been reactive focused on replacing departures rather than expanding capacity.
“For the judges we have always been recruiting to replace those who have gone… but we are yet to add in numbers for us to lower the level of pressure,” he said.
Chief Justice Luke Malaba has previously described the situation as “untenable,” warning that staff shortages are fuelling delays and weakening justice delivery.
Despite ongoing efforts to decentralise courts and establish new divisions, judicial staffing has failed to keep pace, leaving about 80 judges and 250 magistrates to handle a rising caseload nationwide.
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