Articles & News

August 21, 2008

No Bail as Courts Run Out of Receipt Books

BULAWAYO, August 20 2008 - Magistrates courts in Bulawayo and surrounding areas have run out of receipt books and are therefore not granting bail.

The Provincial magistrate responsible for Matabeleland North province, which includes Bulawayo, John Masimba, said they were still waiting for the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to source receipts. The situation was also being compounded by the fact that the Zimbabwe Prison Services was also failing to bring the accused people to court because of shortage of transport.

"I am not aware of the situation as of now, but I remember it was mentioned recently that the courts in my province had run out of bail receipts. We are still waiting for the parent ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to get some from Printflow," said Masimba.

As a result of a lack of bail receipts, courts were left with no choice but to remand suspects out of custody.

Masimba expressed concern at the failure by prison authorities to bring remand prisoners to court noting that for the past 10 months or so, the situation had been erratic.