The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has dismissed claims that spot fines are illegal, saying they are empowered by law to accept them on all offenders whether it is a criminal or traffic offence.
This follows statements by High Court judge, Justice Francis Bere during the official opening of the 2015 Masvingo High court legal year that spot fines are illegal.
In a statement, Police Spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi dismissed Justice Bere’s statement, saying it was his own personal views and made outside the court as it was not an issue brought before the court by someone.
He added that Justice Bere’s statement is not binding on police operations and the issue of admission of guilty is regulated by section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act chapter 9.07.
“The issue of deposit fines was duly tabled before Parliament and approved by Cabinet and justified by Honourable Minister of Home Affairs on several occasions in Parliament, Portfolio Committees, deliberations and public fora. As an organisation, we view the quoted comments as interference on the separation of powers between the Executive, Parliament and Judiciary,” said Chief Superintendent Nyathi.
Chief Superintendent Nyathi urged the public to continue cooperating with the police on all activities to ensure the smooth delivery of justice in the country.
After Justice Bere’s statement, motorists were quick to call on authorities to scrap spot fines.