Zimpapers Logo

Nqobile Tshili

ROGUE elements within the country’s police force have tarnished the image of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) especially at roadblocks.

The public generally view the force as corrupt due to the behaviours of some its officers who routinely demand bribes from motorists at roadblocks and act in a manner unbecoming of law enforcement agents.

These cases have been common so the force has been accused of failing to deal decisively with corruption within its ranks despite its declaration of zero tolerance on the vice and the suspension of 360 cops last year for misconduct.

On many occasions traffic cops have actually endangered the lives of motorists and passengers in the name of executing their duties yet they should be an important player in the fight to reduce road carnage.

Last year a pirate taxi driver from Mpopoma, Bulawayo was killed when a cop pulled a handbrake of his moving Honda Fit.  This caused the car to crash, killing the driver on the spot.

In November this year, eight people were seriously injured after a police officer allegedly pulled the handbrake of a speeding pirate taxi causing a pile up involving three vehicles in the city.

In March, four pupils were injured when a commuter omnibus carrying 18 school children crashed into a ditch following a 5KM high speed chase by motorbike cops in Bulawayo.

The two officers who were chasing after the kombi allegedly escaped when they saw that the vehicle carrying pupils had fallen into the ditch.

Two months later, seven school pupils escaped death in Harare when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in overturned along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue while police officers on a motorcycle were in hot pursuit.

In the same month, four police officers — two of them in uniform — caused a stir in Bulawayo when they threw away opaque beer from their private vehicle after being involved in an accident in the city centre.

Police have also been accused of causing accidents through throwing of tyre deflating spikes on moving vehicles, something which is illegal.

In some cases traffic police officers have been run over by errant drivers while trying to use unorthodox ways to arrest culprits.

The new political dispensation should help the force to reform and improve its service, be a people’s police force instead of maintaining a hostile relationship with the public.

Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe’s (TSCZ) ambassador Jeys Marabini said some of the conduct by traffic police conduct has been deplorable.

He said although the traffic officers could be having the right intentions in fighting crime, their conduct should never be a danger to the public and themselves.

“We’ve heard about those incidents where traffic police officers are accused of grabbing a vehicle’s steering wheel or pulling its handbrake resulting in accidents. I believe that is bad conduct on the part of the law enforcement agents which threatens lives of motoring public and the police officers,” he said.

Jeys said in apprehending traffic criminals the police should act reasonably by, for example, noting down vehicle registration numbers instead of chasing after the vehicles at high-speed.

He said it was the vision of the TSCZ to have an accident-free nation, adding that it was everybody’s duty to reduce criminal activity on the roads.

Mr Lizwe Jamela of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said it was unfortunate that the police were endangering the public in the process of discharging their duties.

The lawyer said his organisation is handling court cases where traffic police are accused of violating human rights while conducting their duties.

Mr Jamela said police have been sued after they threw spikes in front of a moving vehicle causing an accident that injured several women.

“We’ve dealt with a number of cases, I will give you an example where we are suing the police in Plumtree where it is alleged that a driver was smuggling goods from Botswana and the next thing they opened fire on a kombi which had passengers. Is that reasonable? Obviously that is not reasonable. Police are empowered at law to use what is called minimum force to effect arrest but minimum force must be reasonable,” said Mr Jamela.

He said the police should remember their mandate towards the public while discharging their duties.

“They are not there to endanger the public nor are they there to endanger motorists. There are a number of ways of enforcing the law if someone is escaping that is an offence on its own. There are a lot of other ways that a police officer can enforce without endangering the public without  jumping onto the car, you don’t necessarily need to assume the duties of a driver, you can simply record the number plates of a car because these cars are registered centrally. Hence you can trace the owner of the car or whoever was driving the car through lawful means,” he said.

Recent developments in the country have shown that the police need to do a lot to effectively win the hearts of people.

During the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Operation Restore Legacy, police were replaced by the Zimbabwe National Army personnel at spot checks.  The soldiers easily won the hearts of people because of their friendliness.  It was therefore not shocking that the public expressed displeasure when it was announced that the police were assuming their duties at the end of ZDF’s operation.

Soon after Operation Restore Legacy ended, police, on resuming their official duties, unveiled a 11 point plan to transform their operations.  The plan is a clear acknowledgement that they have a lot to do in terms of improving their services.

The Officer Commanding National Traffic, Senior Assistant Commissioner Isaac Tayengwa said among other things, the police will commit to not causing accidents in the process of discharging their duties.

“We shall not detain motorists at roadblock sites unnecessarily; we shall not inconvenience law-abiding motorists; we shall not cause congestion or accidents ourselves during traffic enforcements, but facilitate smooth flow of traffic and pedestrians; we shall all work towards building trust between the police and the general public; and we shall always display our name tags so that the public know who they are dealing with. We shall be transparent, accountable and respectful in all our dealings with our collective audience,” said Snr Asst Comm Tayengwa.

The new Minister of Home Affairs and Culture Cde Obert Mpofu has assured the public that police will transform themselves and execute their duties more professionally.

He said throwing of spikes, grabbing of steering wheels and pulling of handbrakes of moving vehicles will be a thing of the past.

“It’s a thing of the past.  We can’t allow things that create anxiety on the community. All those things are actually unauthorised; they are not part and parcel of policing activities. This is being done by certain malcontents who may not realise the consequences of that kind of action,” said Dr Mpofu.

“This is a people’s police force, it has to safeguard the people’s liberties and ensure that they keep law and order, not to create a situation where people feel insecure in the presence of their police force. This was the message that I have conveyed to their commanders. I’m also very happy that the message was well received and we will be working together now with the national Zimbabwe Police Services.”—@nqotshili