The Chief Justice of Zanzibar, Khamis Ramadhan Abdalla, has asked court officials to monitor the proceedings of the cases of people serving various prison terms to help them appeal to those who are not satisfied with the sentences given.

Abdalla said this when he visited various prisons in Pemba Island and held talks with the officials and the court.

He said that appealing is the right of a suspect sentenced to prison who is not satisfied with the sentence given in court.

He said that this is the duty of the judicial functionaries in seeing that justice is done as well as reducing the overcrowding of prisoners in the existing prisons in the country.

In addition, on the part of the kadhi courts, Chief Justice Abdalla asked the executives, including the kadhis, to mediate cases related to divorce, which have been many.

He said the effects of divorce on couples are great, including the disintegration of the family and children not being able to take care of their father and mother as well as the development of education.

For example, he said that sometimes the mistakes of the couple require joint mediation rather than starting a divorce which has serious consequences.

"Kadhi court executives, including these judges, it's time to get more organized to see that divorce cases are resolved because we are witnessing a large number of divorces, the result of which is the disintegration of families, but the women who are divorced are still very young," he said.

The Executive Officer of the Konde Pemba Court, Maulid Hamad Ali, said that they have arranged to hear cases including cases of sexual harassment through a special court where the cases take about three months before the judgment is issued.

"We have increased the speed of hearing the cases that are brought in time where currently cases are heard and decisions are made in a period of three months," he said.

Earlier, the Registrar of the High Court of Zanzibar, Valentina Andrew Katema said that they have planned to ensure that the investigation of the case is completed on time and brought to court for mention.

"We have planned to ensure that the investigation of the case is completed in a short period of time and begin to be mentioned in our courts, a step that will reduce complaints from the community about the delay in the hearing of the case," he said.

The resident judge in Pemba, Ibrahim Mzee, said that they have increased the speed of hearing cases brought to the courts in Pemba, including cases of sexual harassment.

In addition, he praised the high court for adding executives, including the courts, who have greatly helped the speed of hearing cases and delivering decisions on time, a step that has reduced complaints from the community.