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Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
VICE President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in Victoria Falls yesterday ahead of today’s official opening of the Southern African Chief Justices Forum conference. VP Mnangagwa, who is in charge of the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, arrived just after 5PM. The VP arrived soon after Supreme Court judges and judges from different countries started trickling into the venue of the conference — Elephant Hills Resort.

He was welcomed by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku and other judges before being led to the briefing room. President Robert Mugabe is expected to officially open the conference at 10.45AM. According to the programme, VP Mnangagwa will give the opening remarks before the official opening address. Judicial Services Commission (JSC) Deputy Secretary, Walter Chikwana, said the majority of Chief Justices and judges arrived yesterday.

More than 100 judges from the Sadc region and East Africa are expected at the conference which ends on Sunday. The theme for the annual conference being hosted by JSC is: “Guaranteeing the right to fair trial in Africa: Showcasing best practices.” The overall objective of the conference is to provide space for judiciaries in the East and Southern Africa region to share achievements, best practices and innovations in justice delivery.

The conference seeks to create a platform for judiciaries that have excelled in a variety of areas to showcase their achievements and share experiences and best practices for the promotion and protection of fair trial rights in Africa. The forum will also tackle principles and guidelines on the right to a fair trial and legal assistance in Africa as well as reaffirm the role of judicial independence, enhance awareness and further develop capacity and create a basis for the development of a special interest network on fair trial rights.

Speaking through the JSC official website, Chief Justice Chidyausiku, said the theme for the conference was apt as it encourages best practices in the judiciary, as he welcomed his counterparts and their teams. The judges will also discuss the role of the Judicial Service Commission in enhancing judicial independence and ensuring the right to a fair trial. There is also a session on judicial reform where the top judges will be looking at ways of enhancing the right to a fair trial and judicial training.