NPA complies with court order, withdraws seconded police prosecutors

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn all prosecutors seconded from the security services in compliance with a Supreme Court order made two years ago.

The order directed that the prosecutors vacate civilian courts by February 20 this year.

This follows an application by the Zimbabwe Law Officers Association (ZLOA), which sought to stop NPA from engaging police and military personnel as public prosecutors.

Meanwhile, the NPA has been dogged with cases of its officers been probed for graft.

Recently, a second public prosecutor was arrested on allegations that he consented that bail be granted to alleged dangerous criminals.

This came after the arrest of another prosecutor Tapiwa Kasema on similar allegations.

Kasema, was under investigation for consenting to bail for four notorious armed robbers, including suspected gang leader — Musa Taj Abdul.

Kasema had gone into hiding a few hours after he was suspended from duty by Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi surrendered himself to police at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters in the company of his lawyer.

Since independence, prosecutors seconded from the police and military have played a pivotal role in the justice delivery system, as the then Attorney-General’s Office, and now NPA were understaffed.

In an interview yesterday, Prosecutor-General Hodzi said the NPA was now in full compliance with the Supreme Court order.

-Zwnews/ The Herald