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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]

A STAGGERING 1 383 murder cases were handled by the High Court in 2023 with southern region provinces dominating, amid calls for members of the public to respect the sanctity of life as more people continue to die from violent crimes. 

Statistics from the Judicial Service Commission show that Midlands Province was the bloodiest as it accounted for 379 of handled murder cases, followed by Matabeleland South at 223 and Bulawayo at 168. 

On position four is Mashonaland West with 151 cases followed by Harare at 143, Manicaland at 107, Masvingo at 81, and Mashonaland Central at 63. 

Matabeleland North Province had the least murder cases at 23, followed by Mashonaland East with 45.

In a speech marking the official opening of the 2024 legal year at the Bulawayo High Court yesterday, Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza said 90 722 criminal cases were received by the courts during the year 2023. 

She said when the year started, the courts had 7 948 pending cases and throughout the year, 91 728 cases were completed, which is a positive performance. 

“The performance of the courts during the period under review has been good. In the superior courts, the year started with a total of 2 127 cases carried over from 2022 but the year closed with 1 381 cases, said Justice Gwaunza. 

“The only court that saw its backlog rising at the end of the year was the Labour Court. Engagements with the senior judge of the Labour Court to have the performance of that court improved will be undertaken.” 

She said as the country is celebrating its 10th anniversary of the current Constitution, everyone has a role to play in the entrenchment of constitutionalism by obeying the express commands of the laws of the land. 

“The pursuit of constitutionalism is a call on all people to seek to always conform to the constitutional order. Only then can the nation continue to enjoy unity, peace, and economic development and achieve the social justice it deserves,” said Justice Gwaunza. 

“The judiciary relies on the cooperation of all stakeholders to effectively fulfil its role as the guardian of the Constitution. The attainment of a democratic society that is based on openness, fairness, equality, freedom, and justice depends largely on the willingness of both State and private actors to appreciate the goodness and abidingness of these foundational values and principles demanding action according to them. 

“There must be awareness of the mutual benefit of abiding by constitutionalism,” she added. 

The shocking murder statistics come at a time when health experts have bemoaned the excessive use of dangerous weapons, which are leading to death or penetrating trauma. 

During the just-ended festive season, Mpilo Central Hospital had to deal with 90 patients needing urgent surgeries to save lives after being attacked with dangerous weapons such as knives, axes, spears, and knobkerries.

The giant hospital, which is a referral facility for Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Masvingo, and Midlands provinces was inundated with violence victims whose lives had to be saved through long surgeries after being attacked for various reasons. 

Mpilo’s neurosurgeon Dr Garikai Mwale said 90 percent of all patients he attends in theatre are always victims of violence. 

A neurosurgeon is a medical doctor who diagnoses and treats conditions that affect the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. 

“We have a big problem regarding trauma issues in our hospital, we have too many of them coming into Mpilo. Most of them are victims of domestic violence, people assaulting others mostly it is people from the bar who for some unimportant reason fight and cause severe injuries to other people,” said Dr Mwale.