Corruption syndicates comprising police officers, prosecutors and magistrates are reportedly soliciting bribes from suspects before organising acquittals through sloppy investigations and prosecution.
All this starts at the police station where suspects are
discouraged from engaging lawyers, with rogue officers assuring them of
acquittal and seeking bribes that are lower than what a lawyer would charge in
any case, without that same degree of certainty of acquittal.
Half-baked investigations are then done before the bribed
investigating officer takes the case to a prosecutor, who will be part of the
syndicate, for vetting. During the
trial, there is under-prosecution, leaving the magistrate with no option, but
to clear the suspect.
The allegations were made at an all-stakeholders’
anti-corruption conference in Harare yesterday by Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ)
executive secretary Mr Edward Mapara and backed by Police Assistant
Commissioner Joseph Nyabasa.
The conference was organised by the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and Transparency International Zimbabwe. In most cases, Mr Mapara said, the suspects
were acquitted, hence corruption continues unabated.
LSZ said it had received a number of complaints, with
Guruve Magistrates’ Court allegedly one of the hotspots. Mr Mapara called for
an all-stakeholder’s approach to curb the illicit practice.
“We have engaged the police, prosecution, Judicial Service
Commission (JSC) and prison authorities over the issue, but the syndicates
continue demanding bribes. We will continue engaging them until we win the
fight. Together we will end the corruption.
“As lawyers we went to law school with a view to practice
law, develop the law and fend for our families, but the corrupt syndicates have
taken over,” he said.
Police Assistant Commissioner Joseph Nyabasa confirmed the
collusion between investigating officers and court officials.
“Accused persons may pay the police officers so that they
carry out weak investigations that will lead to an acquittal. We have arrested
a number of errant police officers for such corrupt practices after colluding
with the suspects.
“At times our officers collude with prosecutors and
judicial officers to facilitate a corrupt acquittal of a criminal. This
frustrates the complainants and erodes public confidence in the criminal
justice system. They take the suspects to prosecutors, part of the syndicate,
who will place the case before a judicial officer of their own,” he said.
ZACC commissioner Mrs Jessie Majome added her voice to the
scandal, saying she had received complaints from legal practitioners.
“I have heard a number of lawyers complaining of the
corrupt syndicates in the justice delivery system. Something must be done to
curb the crime,” she said.
ZACC chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo warned those in
the criminal justice system against corruption saying justice must not be sold.
“It is a tragedy when those of us who serve in the justice sector bend the law in exchange for monetary bribes or favours in kind by losing case files, evidence or even suspects, delaying proceedings, issuing questionable sentences or providing prisoners with preferential treatment.
“In return, citizens may turn to informal justice
mechanisms, sometimes run by corrupt cartels and mafia-like structures, to
resolve conflicts and secure their rights. Ultimately, the legitimacy of the
State is undermined. Ladies and gentlemen, if justice can be bought, it becomes
worthiless.
“Equality before the law should not be for sale to the
highest bidder…” she said. A chief law officer at the National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA) Mr Michael Reza said prosecutors were corruptly consenting to
bail to suspects who do not deserve the freedom. Herald
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