By Memory Mudzani
Zimbabwe Organization for Youth in Politics (ZOYP) in partnership with Alliance of community based organizations( ACBOs) has been running partners for justice project since October last year with the aim to rebuild communities confidence in the justice system through their participation.
During a workshop they hosted recently in Gokwe ZOYP director Polite Ndhlovu said that this project was introduced after realizing that the justice system in Zimbabwe has been characterized by allegations of lacking independence and being opaque, corruption and inaccessibility to the public.
He also said that there is need to improve the delivery of Justice through community participation to influence transparency, accountability and efficiency of the justice system.
“There is need to improve the delivery of Justice through community participation to influence transparency, accountability and efficiency of the justice system , as an organization we are trying to do this through community engagement meetings and trainings where we invite the juries who are educating the community about the justice system of Zimbabwe, language used in courts and what is expected of them if they are involved in courts ,” said Ndhlovu
Ndhlovu also said that they have been visiting courts with residents so that they will have knowledge of a court setup and what happens in a court.
A young man by the name Calton said the judiciary system is unfair, with the criminal justice system that persecutes ordinary citizens while it pardons political elites associated with certain political parties.
Other people who participated in ZOYP meeting also said that in most political cases when an issue is reported to the police the less privileged are always at the disadvantaged side.
Shephard Tatenda Farai the owner of Farai associates law chambers who was facilitating and assisting in educating residents about the justice system of Zimbabwe during the recent ZOYP meeting said that if citizens wants to experience justice in courts especially when dealing with political cases, they must fight for independence of the judiciary system from the executive using a petition or a letter.
Farai also noted that in cases where the victims are being tortured, they must comply with their perpetrators and defend themselves in court or look for an influential lawyer to represents them.
According to him it is important to save one’s life and challenge the issue later.
