Golden Jubilee For Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference
for an investigation into their failed marriages.
The first improvement to the office, apart from experimenting with turned
upside down drawers as typing desk and writing surface, was the
intervention of a computer in its early stages. No introduction to the
computer was given and exploration of that new gadget started ever since to
catch the attention of the secretary.
This typewriter was used at the
inception of the Marriage
Tribunal to capture data and
evidence on marriage
annulments.
1.1.2. Other Tribunals Then
There were two tribunals in Zimbabwe that is Gweru Regional Tribunal,
which catered for the dioceses in the Metropolitan of Bulawayo, and
Harare Regional Tribunal catered for all the dioceses which were under
the Harare Metropolitan. Gweru served as the court of appeal to Harare.
With the appointment of the Judicial Vicar, Fr. Bhasera as Bishop of the
newly established Diocese of Gokwe, Gweru Regional Marriage Tribunal
ceased to be functional and was suppressed in 1991. The Harare Regional
Court remained the only Tribunal in the country. Since it was unable to
function on its own, and serving three dioceses, the Zimbabwe Catholic
Bishops' Conference petitioned Rome for expansion. When permission
was granted, the Harare Regional Marriage Tribunal was transformed into
the National Marriage Tribunal of the ZCBC in 1993 but operating at the
Archbishop's House.
1.1.3. From Archbishops' Private quarters to Africa Synod House
On the 22 May 1995, the National Marriage Tribunal moved and was
accommodated at the Africa Synod House on third floor north wing. Great
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