Accessibility links

Breaking News

Zimbabwe Chief Justice Decries Judiciary Corruption, Poor Salaries


The insufficient funding has also resulted in large measure to corruption, especially at the lower levels of the judiciary with some officials, including the police taking bribes, Chidyausiku added

Corruption has become endemic in Zimbabwe's justice system, caused partly by poor remuneration for judiciary employees, says Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, calling on government to review their salaries.

Launching a reformed Code of Ethics for judges on Wednesday, Justice Chidyausiku said the underfunding of the judiciary had compromised its capacity to deliver justice.

The insufficient funding has also resulted in large measure to corruption, especially at the lower levels of the judiciary with some officials, including the police taking bribes, Chidyausiku added.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa also said corruption had become “a cancerous cell eating away the fabric of our justice delivery system.”

The Judiciary Service Commission-revised ethics code compels judges to deliver reserved judgments within 90 days. Some judges were accused of reserving judgments for as much as 6 years.

Some lawyers, including Matshobana Ncube, are not convinced a salary review is the solution to the judiciary corruption. He told VOA that judiciary reforms are the panacea.

XS
SM
MD
LG