By- Out-spoken entertainment promoter-cum- politician and president of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Paddington Japajapa has challenged service chiefs to urgently find effective ways to combat the rampant armed robberies and other criminal activities involving uniformed forces.
In a statement, Japajapa, who is a former liberation war detainee and war collaborator, implored Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander Lieutenant General David Sigauke, and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga to implement security sector reforms as a matter of urgency. Said Japajapa:
CSOs are calling upon the government of Zimbabwe to urgently make security service sector reforms, otherwise, Zimbabwe shall continue to be one of the most dangerous places to live in.
Reorient and reintroduce strict disciplinary measures to all serving soldiers and police officers.
Many officers in the ZNA and ZRP have become a security risk to the nation’s citizenry.
Instead of citizens feeling confident and comfortable to co-exist with ex and serving members of the security forces, the opposite is now happening.
Japajapa’s comments come after several serving members of the ZNA have been implicated in a number of armed robbers across the country.
Earlier this month, retired police detective Joseph Nemaisa was engaged in a fierce shootout with five armed robbers at his home in Chadcombe, Harare.
Three of the robbers were serving members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, including one who was on duty.
Nemaisa shot and killed three of the robbers, while the two who escaped were eventually arrested.