First and foremost, we would like to doff our hats and highly commend you for scrapping off all the static check points and roadblocks on all our highways as they did not serve any purpose at all, but benefitted a few corrupt police officers. Unfortunately, the overpowering stench of corruption is still rife in the entire police service due to some rotten eggs still lurking in the system! Since it isn’t in our nature to speak without facts, we shall cite a practical example.
Last Friday afternoon, we found ourselves at Ndeke Village Police Station in Kitwe to sign a police bond for a street kid who had been wrongly detained alongside an elderly security guard for stealing tension cables and a distributor from a vehicle. Readers may be keen to learn that this one of the street kids that ‘escaped’ being trapped in the calamity at the mine in Chingola. We are providing shelter to him like we are doing to many other vulnerable children, particularly street kids.
To start with, the police did not even have any police bond forms; the lady police officer that kept herself busy on her mobile phone much of the time ‘ordered’ us to make photocopies of the police bond forms at a nearby business centre. We obviously had no choice but to comply as we were desperate to extract our beloved ones from the stinking cells.
Just when we thought our woes had come to an end, then boom…….the criminal investigations officer asked us to pay K150 each for stationery for the duo!
“But I thought the president has insisted you should always release suspects on police bond without any qualms and take them to court asap……” I protested.
Instead of giving me a genuine explanation, the officers resorted to abusing me and calling me names!Unknown to me, the relative to the old man had already coughed up a K150.
“Just say, you are broke!” the lady office screamed at me “Government does not buy us stationery. We have to use our initiative to do our work!”
“Madam, let’s just just cancel the bond,” an officer whom I came to identify as Chisanga chipped in. “I am taking the suspects back in custody!”
I stood my ground and told them it wasn’t my responsibility to provide stationery to the police. I decided to call Mr. Peacewell Mweemba, the Copperbelt police commissioner, to get a clarification but my calls went unanswered, unfortunately.
“We won’t get intimidated even if you the police commissioner,” the lady retorted. “We also have connections in government!”
The two officers were particularly disrespectful, unprofessional and intimidating. The sad part is they didn’t even bother to visit the crime scene but rushed in detaining the suspects. Hon. Minister, is true you don’t provide stationery and members of the public have to dig into their life savings to buy stationery for government when we are already paying tax?
Before leaving the station, I officially lodged in a complaint with the Officer in charge a Mr. Polomondo about the officers in question.
We are demanding that the two officers be disciplined for corrupt practices and unprofessional conduct, immediately.
Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst