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Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
The killing of an alleged thief by a group of residents in Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb indicated what can happen in our community without legally organised security structures.

A man who identified himself as Prince Dube of Nyamandlovu was bludgeoned to death at about 3AM on February 24 after he broke into Onias Nkomo’s house and stole some property.

Nkomo had single handedly tackled him and in the process got injured before he was joined by two neighbours, Tamandiko Mpofu and Khulekani Khupe.

The three eventually subdued the burglar and securely tied him up. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered and inevitably took over from there; that is taking over the alleged thief as well as the goings – on.

The rest is now history and is in the hands of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

That incident should serve as a lesson to Zimbabwean social publics: ordinary communities wherever they may be, the ZRP, the courts of law, and would – be criminals, particularly thieves.

Zimbabwean communities ought to appreciate that the national socio – economic environment is sub – normal, resulting in an unusually high unemployment level. That is bound to result in an increase in crime such as mugging, burglary, fraud, forgery, impersonification, petty pilfering and stock theft.

It would be inappropriate in this article to discuss causes of the country’s poor socio – economic performance and possible remedial action the nation could take. That should be dealt with separately.

Here we are looking at what the various communities can and should do to reduce the crime incidence, and to avert such deaths as suffered by Prince Dube at Cowdray Park.

Security services are vital to any society’s social economic, cultural and political welfare, indeed to the welfare of any community, any family and every individual.

A community such as Cowdray Park needs an accessible, 24-hour police centre or post which can be effective only if it works closely with the community.

It is because of that important fact that communities are advised to form neighbourhood watch committees (NWCs). Those committees are formed with the active police participation, and operate under ZRP guidance.

NWC members are vetted by the residents themselves, and are given basic or rudimentary security and operational training by the ZRP. An NWC is in charge of a defined area, and that area’s senior residents need to be known to it.

Should a bona fide resident take in a lodger, he must submit the lodger’s identity details to the NWC, at least or to the ZRP at most. That practice helps the community to know who is who in it, and anti – social elements can be easily identified and weeded out.

For its part, the ZRP needs to liaise closely with its various publics, by which is meant people whose opinion about it (ZRP) if publicly expressed can either help or harm the ZRP.

Here we are concerned with the community in which the ZRP is based and in which it operates.

The ZRP should use its public relations personnel to sensitise communities about their security. It is, of course, a matter of mutual concern to discuss community security measures, but that is primarily a ZRP responsibility.

For example, informers are recruited by the ZRP and not by community members. A well organised police force has effective eyes and ears in the community it serves. That enables it to be pro – active instead of being reactive, that is to say it can prevent crimes being committed instead of always investigating what has already occurred.

In a majority rule administration, there is nothing wrong with the operations of informers. But in a minority or one – sided racialistic regime, the role of informers is, of course immoral unless they are serving the interests of the down trodden majority.

At Cowdray Park, the ZRP should be based among the community, so that it can act promptly whenever it is necessary. That necessity may be caused by a report or by a noise which may be a shout, a scream, a screech, an explosion, loud singing, wailing, crying, or whatever other type indicating that there is some unusual activity or action in the area.

It is most advisable that NWCs and the ZRP should submit every case they handle to law courts instead of counselling and then releasing the party or parties concerned.

That should be the case particularly with all cases involving domestic disputes and violence. Matters of that nature usually involve passion, and ought to be subjected to professional legal consideration.

Domestic violence cases should usually, if not always, be taken to the police after they have been repeatedly handled by neighbours, family members, elders, church leaders, headmen and/ or chiefs in the rural areas.

That is because there is always much more than meets the ordinary person’s ear in reports about domestic violence or disputes. The best way to deal with them is to hand them over to the courts.

Talking about courts brings us to a very, very important point, which is, decisions made by magistrates and/ or judges. Many convicted people are usually (and usually is the word) given either suspended sentences or community service.

No sooner do many of those so treated by our law courts walk out of the courts than commit much more serious crimes. This is especially so with cases involving domestic violence or disputes.

Even ordinary theft cases are generally treated leniently as accused persons are released for a song and go back to more or less fearlessly and sometimes boastfully commit worse crimes.

It is because of the way some courts treat some cases brought to them that communities decide to take some incidents into their own hands, resulting in the deaths of such suspects as Prince Dube.

The national fight against crime cannot succeed if court sentences seem to show more sympathy towards the offender than towards the offended. This is a fundamental truth utterly unnecessary to emphasise on this day and age in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, would – be criminals would be very well advised that it is virtually always true that “crime does not pay”.

A criminal is sooner or later caught and, all things being equal, ends up either in prison, or physically or mentally disabled by assaults by aggrieved people, or are socially ostracised by the community.

Prince Dube’s death was a sad end to a man that could have tilled the land and produced more than enough for himself, his family and the nation at large, especially during this season with its current plentiful rain.

Instead of stealing, how useful and honourable it would be for all able – bodied Zimbabweans who are not formerly employed to take up hoes, mattocks, rakes and whatever other tools and till the soil!

 Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo – based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. [email protected]