Tinashe Sambiri |The MDC Alliance(Namibia) has described the level of police callousness in the ancient city of Masvingo as shocking.
Overzealous details from Rujeko and Chikato Police Stations-respectively- took turns to bash hapless residents on Wednesday morning.
One cop also attempted trip an MDC Alliance official near Benjamin Burombo Building.
“An overzealous officer attempted to knock me to the ground but I resisted,” said the official.
Also see statement below:
06 JANUARY 2021
MASVINGO RESIDENTS TRAPPED BETWEEN THE CATASTROPHIC PANDEMIC AND THE CALLOUSNESS OF THE CAPTURED POLICE, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA CONDEMNS POLICE BRUTALITY IN MASVINGO.
Mdc Alliance Namibia absolutely condemns the callousness displayed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police belonging to Rujeko and Chikato Police Stations this morning.
It is quite astonishing that the purported central element of a democratic society is the one that is unleashing violence on the innocent citizenry who are struggling to make ends meet due to the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
An objective police force must be subject to the rule of law. We reiterate that the police should be publicly accountable for the maintenance of peace and harmony in our societies.
In addition to that, social democrats in Namibia believe that for a country to grow industrially, the police must control crime and contribute to public order. This is in antithesis with the role to mediate and arbitrate disputes , regulating traffic and helping in times of emergencies. The police must desist from manipulating their legal mandate to use force and deprive citizens of their freedom to express themselves including just allowing them to produce their permits. This attempt to create an undemocratic society in Zimbabwe must be resisted with equal measure.
Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia demands an end to the merging of policing crime and politics. Police powers must be executed as per the dictates of the rule of law and not according to whims of a selfish politician or the police agent. State power should be used in a restrained fashion bearing in mind that the role of the police is to protect the citizenry not vice-versa. It is imperative for the police force to realise that law enforcement requires a delicate balancing act considering the democratic rights of the citizens enshrined in the supreme law of the country.
Furthermore, the wild behaviour of the Police Force in Masvingo today resembles a captured police that has already declared citizens the enemies of the state. It reflects the non-democratic police behaviour mentored by the totalitarian Zanupf government. This overzealous police must protect democratic liberties while maintaining effectiveness against crime, hubbub and pandemonium since they are trained to see themselves as exemplars of moral behaviour as law enforcers. By beating up and injuring dozens in Masvingo today, the police demonstrated that they are political animals who should remove their Zanupf political jackets and begin to serve the country without fear or favour.
In a nutshell, Mdc Alliance Namibia demands that the police in Zimbabwe divorce themselves from abusing the police power to exploit force and engage in summary punishment and use of covert surveillance supporting a dictatorial regime and its rotten and diabolic practises. Citizens must constitutionally resist this kind of thugocracy.
Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya
