The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has launched an investigation to determine how an internal memorandum directed to police commanders over harmonised elections was leaked to the media and the public.

In a statement released on Monday, ZRP national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations have commenced to identify the culprit who leaked the memorandum and the motive behind it.

“The ZRP has taken note of an internal memorandum directed to Police commanders from Commander 2023 harmonised elections which was leaked to the media.

The ZRP advises the public and the media that the leaked memorandum was a communication guide that was meant for police commanders, not for public or media consumption.

We do not condone leakage of internal memoranda by unruly elements within the system.
The ZRP is now conducting investigations with the view of identifying the culprit and finding the motive behind it.

According to the leaked memo, provincial police commanders were instructed to allow opposition political parties to hold their rallies.

Police headquarters sent the memorandum to officers commanding police provinces and officers commanding the Support Unit, directing them that if they had objections, to consult their superiors before blocking opposition political events.

The memo was copied to the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Director of Police Intelligence, and police chiefs.

This comes as the Officer Commanding Bindura District blocked the country’s main opposition party, CCC, from holding its campaign launch in Bindura on Sunday.