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Police Commissioner- General Dr Augustine Chihuri

Freeman Razemba, Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Republic Police yesterday reiterated that it will decisively deal with unruly elements who sponsor violence and cause disturbances in the country through illegal demonstrations.

Police Commissioner-General Dr Augustine Chihuri said violence led to untold suffering and could result in loss of life and property.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Comm-Gen (human resources) Levie Sibanda while addressing nine officers who are set to leave the country for a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

One female officer returned from a similar mission in Liberia.

Dr Chihuri said it was important to understand that peacekeeping was a divine mandate close to the heart of God.

“It is in this regard that the Zimbabwe Republic Police will continue to join hands with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to bring peace and harmony to conflict torn States across the globe.

“It has been proven time and time again that war and violence can never be the midwives to peace. Rather, violence begets violence, disorder retards development and deforms the content of character and well-being of a people,” he said.

He said senior officers had heard from the returning officer and other colleagues who came before her about the tragic and teary stories of unfortunate people caught up in the ravages and aftermath of war.

Dr Chihuri said the most painful part was that there were people who, in the comfort of their homes, sponsor, engineer, manipulate and remote-control perpetrators of violence.

He said the misguided perpetrators who acted at the behest and instigation of their sponsors took their own people as spoils by unleashing wanton violence, looting and mayhem.

Dr Chihuri urged Zimbabweans to take heed of President Mugabe’s call to uphold peace for national cohesion and unimpeded socio-economic development.

“Violence is a spiral that spins a destabilising spider’s web with unnecessary suffering for the people and unwarranted loss of life, limb and property. The hypocrisy is in that the sponsors would not dare to attempt the destructive mischief and machinations in their home countries,” he said.

“This is why all those given to fomenting violence need to be decisively dealt with. It is completely unacceptable that a few malcontents can be allowed to plunder the peace and comfort of the majority on the altar of selfish and misguided criminal frolic,” he said.

Dr Chihuri said the protection and security of lives and property was at the heart of the constitutional mandate of the ZRP.