THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |ZIMBABWE I 2017 Specific Cases The rising cost of justice for the poor – The biting economic conditions in 2017 saw the cost of justice increasing on many fronts. Most persons appearing before the courts were unrepresented because legal fees are beyond their rich. The Legal Aid Directorate remained underfunded and understaffed to deal with the increasing demand for legal assistance. The Legal Aid Directorate only has 10 offices throughout the country with an average of two lawyers per office. This leaves many people especially in the rural centers without access to legal service. The United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems state that “legal aid is an essential element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law” and that “it is a foundation for the enjoyment of other rights, including the right to a fair trial, as a precondition to exercising such rights and an important safeguard that ensures fundamental fairness and public trust in the criminal justice process.” The government must allocate more resources to the Legal Aid Directorate to ensure that legal aid is accessible not only to the urban folk but also to those in rural areas. Proximity of the Courts to the People – Courts are a critical ingredient in the access to justice process. Many people fail to access justice because of the distance between the communities they live in and the courts. 60 % of the people of Zimbabweans live in rural areas of which most courts are in the urban centers. This creates a divide between the people and the courts making it difficult for the rural folk to access the courts. While Magistrates courts are available in at least every province, High Courts are still to fully decentralize. In 2017, the Judicial Service Commission opened a Magistrates Court in Murambinda in Buhera. The High Court was also able to open in Mutare and Masvingo. The High Court now operates in four out of 10 provinces in the country. Judicial Integrity – One of the obstacles to justice for 2017 has been corruption in the justice delivery chain including the judiciary. Allegations of corruption rocked the judiciary in 2017, reaching even the highest level with controversy surrounding appointment to the Judiciary and the Prosecution. Information released by warring ZANU-PF factions in the government alleged attempts by certain groups to capture the judiciary, influence the appointment of judges and the Prosecutor General. The process leading to the appointment of current Prosecutor General Advocate Ray Hemington Goba became a battlefield for ZANU-PF factionalism. These developments are disturbing as they expose the vulnerability of systems of government to ZANU-PF political battles hence compromising the independence and integrity of the judiciary. Apart from the infrastructure for access to justice, the quality of justice delivered through these structures becomes critical. If judges and prosecutors become stooges of political gods, they cease to serve the values of justice but will begin to dance to the whims of politicians, compromising the entire human rights architecture which rests upon the protection of the law. Following these attacks, the Judiciary faces a great task to redeem and cleanse itself and demonstrate its independence and professionalism. To that end, the Judicial Ethics and Advisory Committee provided for in the JSC (Code of Ethics) Regulations 2012, may become a necessary mechanism to activate and help restore the confidence in the judiciary. The role of civil society – The huge gaps left by official justice systems are in some instances filled by civil society organisations. Many people seeking remedy for violation of human rights do not trust the Legal Aid Directorate as many times their cases are against government. Civil society organisations have provided the much-needed legal support for victims to pursue justice. Some victims who live in the rural areas away from the infrastructure have depended on assistance by civil society organisations. For instance, the Forum’s Public Interest Unit in 2017 provided legal assistance to over 360 victims intending to access justice. The cases attended to include cases of organized violence and torture, inheritance, women’s rights and failure by the government to implement certain constitutional provisions. 53