Zimbabwean judicial officers seek learn from Tanzania; Judge President leads delegation

By Daily News Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM: ZIMBABWEAN delegation led by Judge President of the High Court Justice Mary Dube is in Tanzania to learn how the country runs its various judicial activities in the dispensation of justice, especially on cases of management in relation to Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Justice Dube on Monday met with Principal Judge of the High Court of Tanzania, Judge Mustapher Mohamed Siyani, for talks.

“We are here to learn, we have embarked on the system, but we obviously want to make improvements …. before we embarked on the system, we used to hear matters physically, pleadings were being filed physically. We hope that we will be able to learn from your experience(s), we will share the little that we have gathered so far in the past two years,” Justice Dube stated.

She was speaking on her first day of her benchmarking visit to the Judiciary of Tanzania, where she was accompanied by four other senior judicial officers from Zimbabwe.

According to her, they were looking forward to also learn how the Judiciary of Tanzania has navigated through the system by making the country network as one goes into the rural areas and still gets easy internet access.

She recalled that on the Southern and Eastern Africa Chief Justices’ Forum Conference and Annual General Meeting held in Arusha recently, the eastern part of Tanzania, saw the delegates being informed of several achievements the Judiciary of Tanzania has attained, including advances in recording, transcribing and translating of proceedings.

“We do not know exactly how you go about this, that is one of the reasons why we are here, we want to learn so that when we go back home, we will be able to implement the system. We are also here to know how Tanzania got a way to get people from rural areas become connected easily to the system,” she said.

“As you highlighted earlier on, Tanzania is an old friend of Zimbabwe… and there are so many other African countries in this continent, which are ready on this system, but we choose you (Tanzania) because of your existing good relationship with us,” she pointed out.

In a related development, she extended their gratitude for the warm welcome the Judiciary of Tanzania extended to them, from Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport where they were received and accompanied to the hotels. She said that was a picture of very friendly person, which is Tanzania.

On his part, Principal Judge of the High Court of Tanzania told Judge President of Zimbabwe High Court and her delegation that their decision to choose Tanzania – as a point of benchmarking was indeed a privilege, because there are many other jurisdictions in Europe and African countries that have also advanced in the case management system.

He explained that the visit by Hon Dube was significant as it allows both parties to share insights and experiences to advance their common goals of justice dispensation. “We are excited to engage in constructive discussions and learn from each other,” Hon Siyani said.

The Principal Judge explained that exchange of experience to highlight the historical ties between the two countries is very important.

Elaborating, he added that the two countries’ role in the liberation of Zimbabwe and the continuity collaboration, including the post-independence development initiatives where Tanzania sent Judges to serve the High Court of Zimbabwe, underscores the enduring partnership between the nations.

“This sharing historical experiences demonstrate our commitment to fostering a long past collaboration that transcends borders and generation,” Justice Siyani said.

He informed his guest that they have prepared a comprehensive programme to ensure a fruitful visit and they were enthusiastic about sharing insights and discussions that strengthen their judicial cooperation.