HARARE — Chief Justice Luke Malaba has warned that acute shortages of judges, magistrates and support staff are undermining effective justice delivery, despite major investments in decentralising the courts over the past decade.
Officially opening the 2026 legal year in Harare on Monday, Malaba said deploying the correct number of competent staff at every court station was critical to maintaining efficiency and public confidence in the justice system.
“Staff shortages invariably overwork the few members in post and may cause staff demotivation. If that happens, it will inevitably result in poor work output,” he said.
Malaba said the judiciary had undertaken an extensive decentralisation programme, particularly within the High Court and magistrates’ courts, to improve access to justice across the country.
“New magistrates’ court stations were opened in many districts. New seats of the High Court were established in various provinces, in addition to the streamlining of the High Court itself into specialised divisions, including the commercial and anti-corruption divisions in Harare,” he said.
The expansion had not been matched by a corresponding increase in judicial and support staff, he said.
“The number of judges and magistrates in the country has barely increased despite the opening of new courts. Any recruitment that has taken place was intended mainly to cover gaps caused by staff attrition through deaths, retirements, resignations and discharges,” Malaba observed.
He said Zimbabwe’s entire criminal and civil justice system was being handled by just 80 judges and 250 magistrates.
“The untenable situation is made worse by the fact that Zimbabweans are an enlightened people who have embraced modern ways of dispute resolution,” he said.
Malaba said the misalignment between staffing levels and workload had significantly contributed to delays and risked compromising both the quantity and quality of judicial services.
“The number of judges and magistrates in post must be dramatically increased if the judiciary is to continue performing its constitutional mandate,” he said.
Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza, who opened the legal year in Bulawayo, picked up a similar theme.
She said said the speedy resolution of matters by the courts in 2025 should not obscure the reality of severe capacity constraints.
“The achievements recorded would not have been possible without judges, magistrates, registrars and support staff working under significant workload pressure,” she said.
Gwaunza said Bulawayo had only seven High Court judges, who collectively handled exceptionally high volumes of work throughout the year.
