High Court closed as water crisis arrests Ministry of Justice

By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 October 2005

Prisoners, witnesses and judges alike in Harare all became victims of the continuing water crisis that has gripped the entire country. The High Court and other Ministry of Justice buildings at Rotten Row had no water on Wednesday and toilets were not functional. By 10:00 A.M. a decision to close for the day had been made.

Our correspondent in Harare, Simon Muchemwa, said he visited the High Court Wednesday afternoon and found workers from the Public Construction and National Housing department fitting new pipes. But without the necessary chemicals to clean the toilets, Muchemwa said a strong stench hung in the air everywhere within the building.

For over a year now, judges have been using facilities at buildings nearby to relieve themselves and sometimes they even went home during the day because the High Court toilets have not been properly cleaned. Workers told Muchemwa that for months now, they have had no supplies to clean the facilities and a bad smell has been slowly taking over the building. This has made working at the High Court very unpleasant.

Funds from the Ministry of Justice annual budget were allegedly used up by April this year. The department then submitted a supplementary budget which Muchemwa said was allegedly kept secret from parliament. It is only now that the shortage of supplies has become critical that the issue of the budget is beginning to be explored.