Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has approved the Municipal Police and Courts Bill, a proposed law aimed at improving law enforcement, local governance, service delivery and access to justice across the country.
The approval was announced by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday.
The Bill was presented by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.
If passed into law, the Bill will establish professional municipal police services that will focus on community safety, traffic management and preventing local crime. The proposed municipal police officers will also have powers to arrest offenders.
The Bill also proposes the creation of municipal courts to deal with cases involving breaches of local by-laws, minor offences and traffic violations.
Dr Soda said the justice system will establish municipal courts to hear cases arising from arrests made by municipal police officers. The courts will be presided over by municipal magistrates.
According to the Government, the proposed law is intended to strengthen local governance, improve service delivery and make justice more accessible to communities.
