Harare - Zimbabwe's chief judge has made an unprecedented call for private and corporate funding for the nation's cash-strapped judiciary.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, opening the 2011 legal year at a ceremony in Harare on Monday, said the government could not adequately fund the courts given the embattled economy.
He said pay and conditions for judges and officials were "embarrassingly low" and court houses were in a state of ill repair, some even posing health risks from broken plumbing.
Chidyausiku said "serious consideration" needed to be given to getting extra money from the corporate world. He suggested the judiciary set up an independent trust fund that would take money from contributors without influencing cases.