Magistrates’ courts in the Zimbabwean capital Harare were forced to close down on Friday after a suspected typhoid outbreak affected magistrates and staff. The building that houses the courts in central Harare has been without water for almost a month.
The government owned The Herald newspaper on Saturday said some prosecutors had not been reporting for a duty due to illness.
“Some magistrates and clerks of court were sent home in the morning after they exhibited symptoms of the contagious disease,” the paper quoted an unnamed court official.
“The most affected were vomiting and the closure of toilets due to the water problem did not help the situation.”
Harare council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said the water problem at the courts was caused by a major pipeline breakdown.
The closure of the courts is set to worsen the backlog of cases caused by poor staffing. Harare is battling a sever typhoid outbreak that started at the end of last year and has affected more than 1,500 people.
Read MoreMugabe's party says typhoid outbreak 'biological warfare'Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party has attributed the typhoid outbreak that has affected 1,500 people in the capital Harare to biological warfare and Western sanctions.
The claim was made by a Zanu-PF spokesperson in Harare Mr Claudious Mutero as Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera warned the outbreak would spread to other towns because of collapsing water and sewer infrastructure.
“The sanctions induced typhoid does not discriminate whether one is MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) or Zanu-PF as it attacks all people irrespective of their sex, ethnic or religious background,” he told state media.
“We suspect biological warfare by imperialists who are using nationals worldwide as conduits.
“Councillors must unite and call for the removal of these sanctions.”
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