Provincial Magistrate Denis Mangosi has expressed his anger towards the state and police for causing a backlog in court proceedings and has threatened to remove many accused persons from remand due to the lack of progress.
Today, Magistrate Mangosi followed through on his threat and removed two people, Tinashe Kanhukamwe and Prince Chiyambuka from remand accusing the state of keeping them in custody without making any effort to move the case forward.
“If this continues, I will remove all accused persons from remand because some of them have been in custody since 2021, and you are still gathering evidence,” he said.
The two individuals were charged with unlawful entry and have been in custody since July 202.
“We are tired of this. That is why we have a backlog. We need to investigate this. Police officers bring accused persons here and dump them, then leave. From now on, whenever officers bring an accused person here, they should remain until we are done with them,” Magistrate Mangosi stated in frustration.
Some court cases have dragged for months with the State claiming incomplete dockets or investigations for the delays in proceedings and many accused persons have gone for more than six months without trial leaving magistrates with no option but to release suspects.
