Source: Municipal police to be retrained following new Bill -Newsday Zimbabwe
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume has announced plans to retrain municipal police officers after the force was granted direct powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders under the newly approved principles of the Municipal and Courts Bill.
The proposed legislation will enable local authorities to handle minor offences, traffic violations and by-law breaches independently.
In an interview with NewsDay, Mafume said the city would identify “bad apples” within the municipal police ranks as part of efforts to rebuild public trust.
“It’s a welcome development that there is a bill on municipal police to have arresting powers and courts. We applaud the government for that,” Mafume said.
“But there are qualms around the behaviour of certain municipal police officers. We have some bad apples and we are going to identify them and retrain the police officers.”
The mayor expressed confidence in the leadership of the municipal police, highlighting that the unit is headed by former assistant commissioner Obey Law Moyo, a former deputy director of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Investigation Department’s Commercial Crimes Unit.
Mafume also praised the calibre of senior officials, including senior legal officer and acting chamber secretary Ernest Mushava and acting town clerk Warren Sean Chiwawa.
“There is a trust deficit among the citizens, and we are trying to rebuild that at all cost,” Mafume said.
“You know Harare City Council is a city of three million people, and you cannot police by persuasion and by morale issues alone. We have a lot of issues to deal with, such as by-laws.”
Mafume warned officers against harassing residents, adding: “If you detain someone illegally, you can be sued.”
COMMENTS