Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 14. Zimbabwe What other persons entitled to prosecute The following shall possess the right of prosecution— (a) a spouse of the person against whom the offence was committed; (b) the legal guardians or curators of minors or mentally disordered or defective persons, in respect of offences committed against their wards; (c) the surviving spouse or children or, where there is no surviving spouse or child, any of the next-ofkin of any deceased person, in respect of any offence by which the death of such person is alleged to have been caused; (d) public bodies and persons on whom the right is specially conferred by statute, in respect of particular offences. [section amended by section 4 of Act 2 of 2016] 15. Private prosecutor may apply to court for warrant Where, by virtue of the right of prosecution given to private parties by section thirteen or fourteen, any private party desires to prosecute for any offence any person for whose liberation from prison any warrant has been issued by the Prosecutor-General, such private party may apply to the High Court or, in case such court is not then sitting, to any judge, for a warrant for the further detention or, if he is on bail, for the detention of such person, and such court or judge shall make such order as to it or him seems right under the circumstances. 16. Certificate of Prosecutor-General that he or she declines to prosecute (1) Except as is provided by subsection (4), it shall not be competent for any private party to obtain the process of any court for summoning any party to answer any charge, unless such private party produces to the officer authorised by law to issue such process a certificate signed by the Prosecutor-General that he or she has seen the statements or affidavits on which the charge is based and declines to prosecute at the public instance, and, subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (2) and (3), in every case in which the Prosecutor-General declines to prosecute he or she shall, at the request of the party intending to prosecute, grant the certificate required. (2) The Prosecutor-General shall grant the certificate referred to in subsection (1) if— (a) there is produced to him or her by the private party a written request in the form of a sworn statement from which it appears to the Prosecutor-General that the private party— (i) is the victim of the alleged offence, or is otherwise an interested person by virtue of having personally suffered, as a direct consequence of the alleged offence, an invasion of a legal right beyond that suffered by the public generally; and (ii) has the means to conduct the private prosecution promptly and timeously; and (iii) will conduct the private prosecution as an individual (whether personally or through his or her legal practitioner), or as the representative of a class of individuals recognised as a class for the purposes of the Class Actions Act [Chapter 8:17] (No. 10 of 1999); and (b) (3) no grounds exist in terms of subsection (3) for withholding the certificate. The Prosecutor-General may refuse to grant the certificate referred to in subsection (1) upon any one or more of the following grounds, namely— (a) that the conduct complained of by the private party does not disclose a criminal offence; or By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 8