City gets new judge

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RECENTLY-APPOINTED judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo has been seconded to the Bulawayo High Court bringing the number of judges to four

RECENTLY-APPOINTED judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo has been seconded to the Bulawayo High Court bringing the number of judges to four after two senior judges left the bench for greener pastures.

RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR REPORTER

The Bulawayo High Court has been dogged by a backlog of cases due to an acute shortage of judges, with some retired judges being roped in on a temporary basis to ease the workload.

Recently, the court suspended criminal cases, resulting in some being struck off the roll.

The roping in of Justice Moyo will ease the workload on the three current judges, justices Lawrence Kamocha, Martin Makonese and Andrew Mutema, who have been struggling to clear the backlog.

The registrar of the Bulawayo High Court, Vivian Ndlovu, yesterday confirmed that Justice Moyo was now on the Bulawayo bench.

“That’s the position. We now have four judges. She was seconded here in September,” Ndlovu said.

Justice Moyo was appointed to the bench in July together with former Bulawayo regional magistrate Owen Tagu along with four other judges who were appointed to the bench and sworn in by President Robert Mugabe.

The Bulawayo High Court was only left with three judges after Justice Nicholas Ndou quit the bench in December last year.

Ndou had been hearing the Mthwakazi Liberation Front leaders’ treason trial when he quit without making a judgment on their application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.

The matter still awaits conclusion.

Justice Maphios Cheda also left the High Court three months ago to take up a job on the Namibian bench.