THE new Prosecutor General Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo took her oath of office before President Mnangagwa yesterday saying her immediate task was to instil a culture of hard work and speeding up the prosecution of cases handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority, which included clearing the backlog of criminal cases.
Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony at State House, Justice Matanda-Moyo, the immediate past chairperson of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the first female Prosecutor General, said she would look into the slow prosecution of cases and how that could be corrected.
“As I go into that office, we are definitely going to make some certain changes. We need a culture of hard work. We need a culture of concluding cases. Cases cannot proceed for a long time, cases must simply go into court while we are ready to prosecute and within the shortest period of time cases must be concluded before the courts,” she said.
Prosecutor General Matanda-Moyo said her job would simply be to institute and conduct criminal trials.
“So, I will be leading the team in the prosecution of criminal matters in Zimbabwe. I do understand that currently there is a backlog and our task is to clear that backlog,” she said.
Justice Matanda-Moyo, who is a mother of three boys, also took time to narrate her brief personal background.
Justice Matanda-Moyo
“I was born in Honde Valley and attended school at Samaringa Primary School before proceeding to Tsungubvi Primary School in Mazowe. I later went to St Augustine’s in Penhalonga.
“I then studied law and joined the Ministry of Justice. I later moved to the Ministry of Defence as a legal counsel,” she said.
Prosecutor General Matanda-Moyo said from the Ministry of Defence she went back to the Attorney General’s office as a prosecutor rising to become a principal prosecuting officer.
She then moved to civil division rising to become the director of civil division, thereafter becoming director of public prosecutions before moving to the Labour Court of Zimbabwe.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said she became a High Court Judge in 2013 before her appointment as the chairperson of Zacc, a position she held until the latest appointment as Prosecutor General.
The new Prosecutor General, who attends Celebration Church Centre, was married to the late national hero Lieutenant-General Sibusiso Busi Moyo.
Dr Constantino Chiwenga
Vice-Presidents Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya were among those present at the swearing in ceremony.
Chronicle
