Police, courts working to ensure political violence perpetrators are prosecuted

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police is working with the courts to make sure that all pending cases of violence that occurred during primary elections conducted by political parties are cleared before the general elections.

Addressing journalists in Bulawayo yesterday, police commander for the 2018 harmonised elections committee, Senior Assistant Commissioner Erasmus Makodza said this was part of efforts to create a conducive environment for free, fair and credible elections.

Snr Asst Comm Makodza is on a countrywide tour to assess the state of preparedness and deployment of police officers in every province ahead of the general elections.

“We’ve had cases of inter party violence but they’re not many. Those that participated in political violence, most of them have been brought before the courts. Some have been dealt with while others are still pending.

“We do have some outstanding accused persons, whose names will be announced when we have exhausted other means of looking for them. We want to make sure that we go to the elections without any pending cases from primary elections,” said Snr Asst Comm Makodza.

He added that the police had agreed in principle with the judiciary to make sure that all the cases are fast tracked and finalised before the elections.

He said the police were ready for the elections and assured the nation that they will remain focused on their mandate to ensure that peace prevails during the elections.

“The Commissioner General of police has set up a committee to co-ordinate, guide, supervise and ensure police deployments are focused towards a conducive atmosphere for holding free, fair and credible elections.

“We’re working with all Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) structures and other relevant stakeholders to ensure police deployments are conducted well on time,” said Snr Asst Comm Makodza.

He added that in line with the pronouncements made by President Mnangagwa, the police have zero tolerance on all forms of politically motivated crimes and will arrest anyone who engages in violence.

“I also urge the media to preach the word of peace, tolerance and condemn violence in all its forms.

“The media is a key stakeholder in elections and practically with regards to observance of peace by all Zimbabweans.

“Members of the public are also encouraged to come forward and report all forms of violence to ensure swift action is taken by the police,” said Snr Asst Comm Makodza.

He urged all police officers to take heed of President Mnangagwa’s message of peace, free, fair, credible and non-violent elections by taking decisive action on all political parties.

He assured the police officers that the required equipment in the form of vehicles and communication radios will soon be dispatched to ensure that they perform their duties effectively.

Acting officer commanding Bulawayo province Asst Comm Jimmy Khumalo said the province was geared for the elections, with more than 2 300 police officers deployed to the 410 polling stations.

“As Bulawayo province we have 410 polling stations, 29 wards and 12 constituencies. We’ll deploy 2 300 police officers throughout the 410 polling stations and the provincial command centre.

“The province is already carrying out vigorous training of our officers through workshops so that when the election date is announced we’re ready to hit the ground running,” said Asst Comm Khumalo. — @ pamelashumba1