POLICE MUST UP GAME

CORNELIUS Mweetwa is right that police officers mistreating opposition leaders are being unprofessional.

Mr Mweetwa, the spokesperson for the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) says police officers should stop taking the law into their own hands.

Mr Mweetwa is right because some police officers have a misconception that they are doing the ruling party a favour by mistreating opposition figures.

They do not realise that they are actually doing a great disservice not only to their profession but the governing party as well for the negatives their behaviour attracts.

Mr Mweetwa, who is also Southern Province Minister said the ruling party was concerned about some actions of some officers in the police service in reference to Citizens First President Harry Kalaba who was harassed on the Copperbelt recently.

Mr Kalaba was picked up and held at the police station in Kalulushi at a house of a Citizens First official where he was having lunch. Police said he did not notify them.

Within days, he was “deported” from Mufulira after featuring on two radio stations. He was escorted to the outskirts of the district.

As veteran politician Dr. George Mpombo said, it was unfair to categorise a small meeting to have a meal with colleagues as unlawful assembly because if that was the case people would have been getting arrested every day.

What is surprising that the government has not said anything about this unfortunate incident until now.

Mr Mweetwa said it was wrong and the UPND did not condone such activities since they were on the receiving end the time they were in opposition.

Mr Mweetwa said there was no way that the things they were condemning in opposition could become lucrative now that they were in power.

But such is what is happening on the ground with some police officers believing that they would be in good books with the new dawn administration by mistreating opposition leaders.

We quite agree with Mr Mweetwa that they do not want the police to be an extension of partisan politics and that they needed to be autonomous in their actions.

But this autonomy can only be seen and appreciated when people see the men and women in uniform take action even against UPND cadres who misbehave.

There have been cases, particularly during the recent by-elections in which suspected UPND cadres were reported to the police for violent behaviour. Such reports fell on deaf ears as the complainants often ended up as the accused.

Lack of professionalism within the Zambia Police Service will only result in the public losing confidence in the security wing and regard it as a militia of the ruling party.

Police Inspector General Lemmy Kajoba still has time to redeem their image by ensuring that overzealous officers are sieved from the ranks and have a truly people’s police service.

They need to redeem themselves.