POLICE NEED REFRESHER COURSES, SAYS KABWITA

THE failure by the Zambia Police Service to locate Pamela Chisumpa and 12 other girls who were abducted and kept captive for six months is an indictment on the Inspector General of Police, and the entire security system of the country, National Democratic Congress faction general secretary Charles Kabwita has said

Mr Kabwita said the government should consider introducing refresher courses for the men and women in uniform so that they could be abreast with moving times as the current dispensation required technologically skilled personnel to trace and detect crime.

Mr. Kabwita said the government should quickly consider capacitating the police service with expertise needed to handle abduction cases, the abilities the service lacked.

He said in an interview that there was need for the government to facilitate exchange programmes for the police wings in other countries to enhance their investigative skills. “I feel the police is lacking expertise, it is not an insult, it is the timely advice, and the IG has failed, he has also failed the men in uniform, we need to seriously look for a partner, a country that we can align the police service so that they can learn how to investigate abductions and other cases,” Mr Kabwita said.

Mr. Kabwita said if the police did need refresher courses then they deliberately failed to act quickly on the 13 girls who were kidnapped and kept in captivity without the police doing anything to secure their lives.

He also expressed disappointment that Mr Kajoba was resorting to intimidating the people who played a role in rescuing the girls.

Mr. Kabwita said Zambians respected the police service for the profession they attach to their work but when something was wrong, people had every right to speak without any form of intimidation.