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Codelia Mondela, Chronicle Reporter
DOZENS of cases failed to kick off in Bulawayo yesterday after the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) failed to bring remand prisoners to court.

The prison truck allegedly broke down.

Magistrates at Tredgold and Western Commonage courts were forced to remand prisoners in custody, in absentia.

By 11 AM magistrates at the usually busy Tredgold Court had finished dealing with cases of suspects straight from cells and those out on bail.

They spent the rest of the day idle or reviewing files of court cases.

ZPCS public relations officer Superintendent Priscilla Mthembo yesterday said the problem was confined to Bulawayo.

ZPCS Bulawayo spokesperson Principal Correctional Officer Garainashe Moyo attributed the mishap to a breakdown of the truck that transports inmates from Bulawayo and Khami prisons to the courts.

“At the moment we only have one truck and it is difficult for it to service all the areas so we are taking prisoners from Khami to Bulawayo prison. As I speak the truck has been fixed so tomorrow (today) will be a normal day and inmates will be brought to court,” PCO Moyo said.

He said he could not give the exact number of inmates who were supposed to be brought to court and dismissed reports that ZPCS did not purchase fuel for the truck.

“That is not correct, those sources are not authentic,” PCO Moyo said.

Last year in October, the ZPCS failed to deliver remand prisoners to courts in Bulawayo following a breakdown of its two trucks.

In November 2014, ZPCS also failed to take prisoners to Bulawayo courts for three consecutive days due to a shortage of fuel, forcing courts to indefinitely postpone some trials for suspects in remand prisons at Khami Prison Complex on the outskirts of the city.

@MondelaC