Reflecting back on the discussions that took place throughout, IBJ and the participants all found that the objectives were met. The participants identified challenges in the justice and penitentiary system that cause congestion and overcrowding in remand prisons. Among these challenges were the poor functioning of the criminal justice system, the inability of ordinary citizens to pay legal fees, the slow process of criminal procedures and lack of coordination among the different actors of the system. The discussion continued by looking for practical solutions to the problem and ways in which lawyers can alleviate overcrowding in the remand prisons, with particular attention being paid to the lawyers collaborating with IBJ in a future legal aid pilot to be possibly launched in Bulawayo province. Lawyers committed to assist in providing legal assistance. This is a great step towards giving a sense of responsibility to lawyers from that province.

Participants found the discussion useful for their daily jobs and relevant to the challenges that Zimbabwe’s criminal justice system faces.  A participant acknowledged that this was “only the beginning” and encouraged IBJ to “set up proper structures” for the engagement of lawyers in legal aid activities across the province.

In the same light, another participant stressed the importance of IBJ to engage senior partners in law firms in mentoring junior lawyers to assist indigent arrestees. He stressed the need to “make senior lawyers understand that the project will also go a long way in developing junior lawyers’ skills”. Another suggested the need to engage prosecutors and magistrates to help resolve the problem of overcrowding. IBJ is committed to creating a collaborative platform for discussion with the different segments of the justice sector of Bulawayo province.

Participants welcomed the provincial pilot legal aid project and asserted their commitment to assist indigent arrestees. They all expressed a strong desire to follow up, attend future roundtable discussions and training events, and contribute to legal assistance efforts so that one day, every man, woman and child accused of a crime in Bulawayo has effective access to quality legal counsel.

All attendants felt that the role and challenges had been identified and what’s more, that recommendations that were brought forward could have a direct impact on the criminal justice system in Zimbabwe. Participants indicated the discussions were ‘informative, vital and an eye-opener.’

The participants agreed that the media have power and an important role in influencing public and government policy.  That is why accurate reporting of cases is seen as an important tool and a method of deterrence to keep the system accountable to its own rule. It was highlighted that the Zimbabwean media has the power to influence the nation’s conscience and it needs to be aware of that power. The tendency to report exclusively on highly political cases, leaving the cases of ordinary people unheard, was debated.

The journalists highlighted their need for training on human rights issues, including the right to privacy.  The issue of privacy was further discussed, with journalists commenting that most journalists or editors were unaware that it is inappropriate to expose the identities of victims of sexual violence or their relatives. Legal procedure, human rights and ethics were other areas journalists requested to be trained in. IBJ will therefore look for partnership with schools to explore the possibility, so that journalists can be provided with the desired training.

Another point of discussion was the need for journalists to be seen as partners of the criminal justice system, both to educate the public and to highlight its failings/mistakes and need for reform. The journalists felt that stakeholders within the criminal justice system view the media with suspicion and are reluctant to cooperate. Closer cooperation between the media and IBJ will be a first step towards changing this.

Lack of accessibility to justice, as well as media, was discussed as it is a problem for those who live in rural areas and those who do not speak English and Shona. There are no newspaper distributors in many rural areas, meaning that newspapers reach these places when the news is already out of date.  Radio and television broadcasts also do not cover more than half of the country.

After a lively discussion it was agreed that much needs to be done to improve the role of Zimbabwean media and standards of reporting. In this regard many issues need to be considered. These include continual training, with classes tailored to meet specific needs such as education within specialist areas. The need for a self-regulatory body is also pressing, since Zimbabwean journalists lack any form of professional body, which undermines their ability to control their freedoms. It was also highlighted that journalists and relevant professionals need to cultivate professional working relationships. This way, journalists have experts to turn to with questions or requests for editorials, thereby improving the quality of reporting. To that end the IBJ Zimbabwe team ensured all the journalists present had their contact details and expressed their willingness and desire that journalists get in touch whenever they have any legal questions.

After this fruitful meeting, the first step is to build a stronger relationship with editors in media houses and find out how IBJ can contribute to further training of the media. Participants were enthusiastic about this opportunity and future events, with one journalist saying that he “would not want to miss any, so long as I’m available.” The focus on the media shows that IBJ is committed to approach all actors in the criminal justice system. This way, we can fully contribute and improve the justice systems in the countries we work in. This approach has already borne fruit, as several Zimbabwe newspapers have already reported on IBJ’s work. This shows that we are increasingly driving the focus of the media on ordinary citizens enmeshed in the criminal justice system.

Above: IBJ roundtable made headlines in the Harare Metro on November 3rd, 2010

Above: The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe in Harare (Photo by Florence Chatira)

The training will promote an interactive approach where lawyers will be put in the situation to develop the theory of the case, interview a client and cross-examine witnesses. IBJ International Program Director, Sanjeewa Liyanage, and IBJ Zimbabwe Fellows, Innocent Maja and John Burombo will appeal to lawyers’ inner values and urge them to take action to improve the fair and speedy delivery of justice across the country. At the end of the training, lawyers will be offered the possibility to take pro-bono cases to stem the tide of the country’s legal needs. The last day of the training will be devoted to identifying and training senior lawyers become instructors/trainers themselves. The hope is to empower local lawyers with a set of teaching skills so that they can themselves later replicate legal defense trainings and mentor their peers throughout the country. Next regional training session in the Fall 2010 will integrate these local instructors in order to increase the sustainability of the training approach.

Above: The Mission Statement of the Zimbabwe Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

To ensure that Zimbabwean lawyers are able to learn “on the job”, follow-up one-on-one mentoring sessions will be conducted at IBJ’s Defender Resource Center in Harare on May 17th and 18th. Anthony Natale will spend time with lawyers to dissect the nuances of their case and help them more fully utilize the portfolio of lessons drawn from the training and the criminal defense handbook. The goal is to provide individualized and innovative solutions to challenges that arise from specific cases and help the accused get the most professional defense possible – especially in cases featuring homicide or other serious crime that could result in the death penalty.

As access to legal aid crucially lacks in provinces, the goal of the series of trainings is also to increase the total number of lawyers trained by reaching out to new areas where IBJ was not present before. Following activities in Harare, the IBJ team will head to Bulawayo to conduct a legal defense training on May 22nd and 23rd. Zimbabwe’s second biggest city, Bulawayo has a rich legal tradition which IBJ hopes to build upon to promote access to justice in Matabeleland North Province. The training will focus on increasing the capability of provincial lawyers to provide competent defenses to accused persons, particularly indigents, of which has been a problematic issue for many Zimbabweans. The training will explore a plethora of legal concepts such as cross-examination and procedures to prevent torture against prisoners, helping the participating lawyers in garnering invaluable skills and building a provincial movement in favor of the protection of the rights of the accused.

Above: Zimbabwean street vendors (Photo by Florence Chatira)

This series of trainings will be an opportunity to intensify awareness-raising and community-building activities by engaging with local partners, meeting lawyers, observing trials and visiting prisons.

During the engaging interview, the Fellows commenced by outlining IBJ’s mandate and objectives. They outlined and explained IBJ’s approach, using the three-pillar programming consisting of defender capacity building, criminal justice reform and human rights awareness. The Fellows then outlined the rights available under the Constitution of Zimbabwe to protect people who are believed to have committed criminal offences. These include, among others, the protection against arbitrary arrest; being promptly informed of the reason for an arrest; being allowed to engage a lawyer without delay; being brought before court without undue delay; the entitlement to bail; and the entitlement to a fair trial without delay.

After outlining these rights, the Fellows then outlined the strategies IBJ was to utilize to implement the rights awareness campaign. These included use of dramas and movies, use of the print and electronic media, use of posters and leaflets, use of manuals, use of t-shirts and other regalia, putting up of billboards and doing road shows.

In conclusion, the Fellows emphasized the need for citizens to be made aware of their Constitutional rights. They stressed the importance of rights awareness in its capacity to empower citizens to enable them to exercise their rights. This would, in turn, help ensure that citizens are able to access justice by asserting these rights.

After identifying these areas, the officers then proposed strategies on how to implement the campaign. They agreed that it was important to identify the particular target groups for the campaign to come up with specific strategies for each group. This would entail using clearly focused mechanisms. These mechanisms included use of dramas and movies, use of the print and electronic media to demystify the rights, use of posters and leaflets, use of target group-specific manuals, use of t-shirts and other regalia, putting up of billboards and carrying out of road shows to reach out to all communities. The participants also believed there was need to engage other state institutions, like the police, and have them participate in the campaign as well. It was agreed that this would go a long way in building a culture of respect for human rights.

The participants then came up with specific action plans for the implementation of these strategies. It was agreed that an e-group for all participants be created to ensure that the commitments agreed upon are followed up and implemented. Participants expressed gratitude at the hosting of the discussion by IBJ, with one participant commenting that the “discussion atmosphere was good and enabling.”

At that time, the remand prison was going through a serious crisis, including overcrowding, food shortages, and lack of access to medical treatment. Inmates barely had a single decent meal per day and diseases like pellagra and cholera were rampant. The last truck which transported the prisoners to and from courts broke down in May 2008, leaving them enable to attend trial. Prisoners were therefore continually remanded in custody in absentia.

When John commenced legal assistance the main concern was to get Prince out of custody. He applied for bail but it was denied. With the court system seriously dysfunctional, the State was taking a considerable time to bring the matter to trial and Prince continued to be remanded in custody, leaving his wife and baby totally vulnerable. John therefore decided to apply for a refusal of the further remand of Prince pending trial. In March 2009, such application was made to the court. After considering all submissions, the court upheld the application. Prince was discharged and released from custody. He almost spent one year in remand prison. He could barely hide his happiness and gratefulness at recovering freedom after such a long time away from his wife and 1-year old baby.

When he first met John, he expressed his concern at the welfare of his family in his absence, particularly his brother who is at school. John promised him to do all he could to assist him. John immediately filed an application for bail. Mukarati was granted bail of US$50. Unfortunately, neither him nor his family could afford to pay such an amount of money.

But John did not get discouraged for all that. He tried to have the bail reduced and pushed for the trial to commence. However, because of the court system congestion, nothing happened. John then filed an application for refusal of further remand since the State took a long time to commence the proceedings. The court upheld the application. Mukarati was released and re-united with his grandmother and young brother after 8 months spent in remand prison. He could barely hide his delight.

Above: IBJ Legal Fellow strives to provide committed counsel to vulnerable prisoners in Zimbabwe. (Photo by Florence Chatira)

Above: from left to right: former Magistrate and Head of the Legal Unit of the Legal Resources Foundation, Evangelista Kabasa; IBJ Zimbabwe Fellow and Country Manager, Innocent Maja making a strong case for bail releases of detainees accused of minor offenses to decongest the country’s prisons. (Photo by Florence Chatira).

After discussing the problems and sharing experiences, the magistrates came up with practical solutions to these problems. The Magistrates committed to do the following:
(i) Grant bail to every accused person that appears before them as of right unless the state
proves otherwise;
(ii) Stipulate a quantum of bail that matches the offence and the offender;
(iii) Patiently secure the rights of the unrepresented accused persons;
(iv) Consider community service and fines first and then imprisonment last in sentencing;
(v) Train and mentor junior Magistrates in sentencing, the first such training being held on
14 August 2009;
(vi) Lobby for the repeal of section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act).
Magistrates undertook to compile all cases where section 121 was invoked, ascertain how many were eventually pursued and then make a case.
(vii) Undertake monthly prison visits;
(viii) Co-operate with IBJ to produce Sentencing Guidelines and Court Management Manual.

Above: The roundtable participants reflecting upon the challenges plaguing the Zimbabwean prison system and solutions to alleviate  pre-trial detention and prison overcrowding. (Photo by Florence Chatira)

Throughout the event, the Magistrates were motivated and dedicated to working with IBJ and other players in the criminal justice system to improve prison conditions and reform the criminal justice system. The event was a resounding success. IBJ will continue to provide the necessary platform for this to be achieved.

Above: Provincial Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe leading the discussion on proposed solutions. (Photo by Florence Chatira)

Above: IBJ Fellow Innocent Maja leading a discussion. (Photo by Florence Chatira.)

Participants cited corruption, economic hardship, little resources, and shortage of transport to convey accused persons to court as causes of overcrowding. After much deliberation and IBJ Zimbabwe Fellow, John Burombo presented the concept paper and a moving story of how IBJ Zimbabwean fellows released 26 accused persons from remand prison, participants agreed that lawyers had an ethical obligation to represent indigent accused persons pro bono as one of the means to decongest prisons.

Above: John Burombo, an IBJ Laywer, presenting during the roundtable discussion.  (Photo by Florence Chatira.)

At the conclusion of the discussion, ZACRO (with the assistance of the Law Society of Zimbabwe and IBJ) undertook to create a database for indigent accused persons in remand prison in need of pro bono legal assistance. Legal practitioners present pledged to take up at least two cases a month pro bono and at a nominal fee, to help indigent incarcerated citizens.

Above: IBJ Program Director Sanjeewa Liyanage discussing criminal justice with a roundtable participant. (Photo by Florence Chatira.) 

The roundtable was a resounding success. In giving feedback about the roundtable, one participant stated that she had “learnt a lot of things” and another branded the event as “quite insightful and thought provoking.” As IBJ Zimbabwe Fellows look to organize their next roundtable, they are certain it will be another great success.

Above: Participants in the July 7 Roundtable dicussion in Harare.  (Photo by Florence Chatira.)