Spate of armed robberies a security threat
Zimbabwe has of late experienced an unprecedented spate of armed robberies in various parts of the country. It is sad to note that some of these armed robberies have been reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) without serious action being taken to curb such organised criminal activities. It is also sad to note that there is very poor rapport between the ZRP and the local communities they are indebted to serve. It is not surprising that the communities’ levels of trust of the ZRP tend to be very poor. Above all, the ZRP lacks the requisite passion and ethics required in the execution of their duties that are paramount for crime prevention, the protection of citizens and the maintenance of national security within the ZRP’s jurisdiction and mandate. In these circumstances, the space for organised crimes is so large and free that national and regional security is facing an unchecked threat. The current crisis in neighbouring Mozambique is a classic cue for regional insecurity, but it looks like the Sadc region’s security consciousness has been locked down. Zimbabwe appears to be complacent or lackadaisical in mobilizing its security apparatus for the safeguarding of its sovereignty and the protection of its citizens needless to mention the ailing economy. There is also the likelihood of poor resource management to ensure efficient execution of duty by the ZRP. This article is an eye-opener and a call to serious action.
The unprecedented spate of armed robbery cases in Zimbabwe resembles a situation where armed dissidents, bandits and sponsored terrorists are warming up for a red-hot destabilisation of the country and the Southern African region. Additionally, the prevalence of unchecked armed syndicates is symptomatic of a possible proliferation of arms (small firearms and sophisticated firearms) in the country and the region. Further, when some members of the uniformed police force and defence forces are found to be in complicit with civilian criminal syndicates, a serious civil unrest can turn into a nasty armed conflict which cannot be tamed with ease and without much civilian casualties, needless to mention business losses.
The national security traps and destabilisation matrices are many and varied, but unfortunately underrated. Warmongers and sponsors of terrorism are not scarce. However, the current impression on security in Zimbabwe is that the lackadaisical attitude, the incapacitation and corruption of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and allied security institutions, create a great opportunity for the evolution of internal terrorist brands more formidable than the militant Boko Haram and the infamous and notorious Stephen Chidhumo and Edgar Masendeke.
National security for national sovereignty Lest we suffer self-muzzling, it should not be considered a taboo to publicly discuss matters of national security. Concern about national security matters is an act and a show of patriotism. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Defence and Security Services chaired by Chiredzi South Member of Parliament Callisto Gwanetsa (Zanu PF) produced a damning report in March 2021.
According to The Standard weekly newspaper (March 14, 2021), the report by the said Parliamentary Portfolio Committee informs the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) that Zimbabwe’s borders are grossly porous. The report further informs us that State security agents manning the country’s expansive border lines are “corruptly facilitating illegal entry of locals and foreigners'' and that this was rampant. This situation poses a serious security threat in many ways. Smuggling of small and large firearms in and out of the country through these porous border lines cannot be rashly ruled out. If borders are reportedly porous, why can’t terrorists and dissidents cross into and out of Zimbabwe for training and execution of duty?
National security is not only important for the protection of a country’s citizens from criminals, but it is equally important for the maintenance and safeguarding of national sovereignty and regional peace. Thus, complacency in security matters will make us pay heavily. The United States of America (USA), with its sophisticated security institutions and technology suffered a classic terrorist attack in September 2011. This period is now code-named the 9/11 Era. Zimbabwe’s erstwhile neighbour, Mozambique, is in the cauldron of a national security crisis as allegedly sponsored terrorists ravage the country’s town of Palma in the Cabo Delgado province leaving thousands of people in forced displacement and scores dead. Perhaps it is not too late that the Sadc Double Troika held a strategic summit in Mozambique on April 8, 2021.
Armed robberies, security
An armed robbery that took place in late February 2021 in Harare’s CBD involved a Police Constable Kudzai Kanjera of ZRP Hatfield, Harare. He was among a gang of six and he and three other armed robbers were killed in a shootout which the ZRP reported in a press statement on February 20, 2021. On Saturday March 27, 2021 a gang of eight armed robbers broke into Gateway High School in Harare again and blew up the administration block strong-room using dynamite to gain access. They stole cash and disappeared. It is highly probable that most of the armed robberies involve local people as evidenced by the February 2021
CBD case. The Gateway High School case is reported to be under investigations.
The NewsDay has recently reported that Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe admitted before the Senate that serving and former police officers and soldiers were involved in the majority of armed robberies recorded throughout Zimbabwe. The minister also informed the Senate that lack of transport and adequate equipment is hampering the ZRP from executing duties effectively. Although the Home Affairs minister is correct on ZRP resource shortages, the government should look into how the available resources are being managed.
The question that begs answers is to establish the number of security officers involved in these criminal cases taking into consideration the report by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Defence and Security Services. The other questions that beg answers are the establishment of the number of armed robbery cases that have taken place within the space of three months in 2021 alone , how many robbers have been arrested, tried and given due sentences and what measures the GoZ has put in place to insure the protection of citizens and the sovereignty of the nation at large.
Policing, security strategies
It is also important for the GoZ to craft sound policing and security strategies to prevent crimes. The police should not just be seen doing running battles with cash barons, errant motorists and vendors. The police should also be doing regular patrols targeted at preventing crimes during the day and at night. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has worked with local governance structures in Croatia, Haiti and Liberia as part of the national community policing plan. Stakeholders in this work included municipal government, police, judiciary, schools, health and welfare institutions and civil society. This strategy should be emulated.
There is also a need to develop a communications and advocacy strategy. For example in Bangladesh, the Police Reform Programme has employed a former journalist as a Communications Advisor. According to UNDP, this is in recognition of the need to raise the public profile of police reform issues and to build a wider constituency of support amongst the civil society, the media and the international community. This communications strategy is playing an important role in raising awareness of the need to pass new draft legislation that seeks to make the police independent of political interference.
Conclusion
When the country’s border lines are porous, security agents corrupt, the police and the army in complicit with local and expatriate armed robbers, this crime matrix poses serious national and regional security threat. This is a wakeup call to serious action on the part of the GoZ.