By Staff Reporter
The High Court in Masvingo is currently understaffed, with only two judges handling cases at the Court, which covers Masvingo, parts of Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces.
This was revealed during the official opening of the 2025 legal year on January 13 at the Masvingo High Court, in a speech by Constitutional Court Judge Justice Anne-Marie Gowora who officiated at the ceremony.
She said while there had been a substantial volume of cases handled by the Court in relation to the limited number of judges, there was need to address the need for additional judicial capacity at the Court.
“I must emphasize that the High Court is currently staffed by only two judges, Honorable Charewa and Zisengwe JJ. When one carefully considers the substantial volume of cases handled by the Court in relation to the limited number of judges, it becomes evident that these judges have displayed remarkable dedication and resilience.
“Nevertheless, I must stress the importance of addressing the need for additional judicial capacity at the Masvingo High Court. While the stellar performance of the two judges last year is commendable, it is crucial to recognize the challenges posed by their current workload,” Gowora said.
She further went to say that lack of adequate staffing posed the risk of delays in case resolution, which in turn undermines the delivery of justice on time.
Gowora added that the Masvingo High Court needed one more judge, to ease pressure on the existing judicial officers, so that they are not overburdened by cases due to their volumes as well as the demands of the Court’s jurisdiction.
“The deployment of an additional judge is therefore not only justified but necessary to ensure the expeditious handling of cases, and the continued maintenance of high standards in the administration of justice,” she said.
The civil division of the Masvingo High Court in 2024 received 893 cases on top of the 20 cases carried over from 2023, making a total of 913 cases.
Of these, the Court managed to finalize 810 cases, which left 103 cases pending resolution and carried over to 2025, with the clearance rate being 89 percent. Additionally, the criminal division of the same Court received 1 909 cases in 2024, including 32 cases that had been carried over from the previous year, and of those, 1 719 cases were finalized, which left 118 cases pending resolution, placing the clearance rate for criminal cases at 94percent.
