The Judicial Service Commission has expanded the magistrates' bench to help manage a growing caseload of drug-related and cybercrime cases.
The move includes the deployment of 25 newly sworn-in magistrates to specialised courts across the country.
Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro, speaking to journalists after the swearing-in ceremony, said the recruitment was aimed at strengthening capacity at courts grappling with increasing caseloads and case backlogs.
Guwuriro said the courts are handling a growing number of cases involving drug and substance abuse, as well as cybercrime, which require dedicated attention and specialised expertise. She said the specialised courts established to deal with these offences needed additional personnel to operate effectively, prompting the latest recruitment drive.
"This is one of the mitigating measures the commission is taking," she said.
"We are also decentralising courts, which has created demand for additional magistrates at the new stations."
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According to Guwuriro, attrition is another factor driving recruitment. Magistrates resign, are promoted or transfer to other stations, creating vacancies that must be filled to ensure the efficient administration of justice.
The 25 newly appointed magistrates will be deployed to already established court stations to help clear pending cases.
The expansion builds on an initiative launched in September last year, when the justice sector trained 44 magistrates and prosecutors to handle drug-related and cybercrime cases.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, speaking at the opening of a JSC training programme for judicial officers, said the Judiciary was aligning itself with national efforts to combat drug and substance abuse.
He cited President Emmerson Mnangagwa's call for a coordinated national response and warned of the far-reaching social consequences of drug abuse.
"The societal consequences are staggering: broken families, lost educational opportunities, rising criminal activity, and increased pressure on law enforcement and correctional institutions," Ziyambi said.
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