Police corruption worrying

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 13:59:02 +0000

By JUSTINA MULENGA

IT IS saddening to learn that a law enforcement body like the police is one of the most corrupt institutions in government which has paved way for the high rates of crime in the country, 3rd Liberation Movement President, Enoch Roosevelt Tonga, has announced.

Speaking to the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday, Mr Tonga said corruption in the police force in Zambia was worrying and that something needed to be done by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

He said, the corrupt practices by police will make it impossible to curb crime in the country because those as law enforcers were in the forefront of corrupt practices.

“The police force should be cleaned and all this corruption be brought to an end to maintain law and order in the country,” he said.

Mr Tonga said law breakers in the country were aware of the corruption in the police force which is why they had continued breaking laws knowing that they would find their way out once they bribed police officers.

He observed that there was too much lawlessness in the country all because of corrupt law enforcers like the police.

He said the police should redeem themselves and come out of such practices because people were losing confidence in them as enforcers of the law.

“Whenever I see a police officer, all that will run my mind is he or she is a corrupt individual which is not good,” he said.

He added that the call to close most traffic police check points was due to the corruption acts that most police officers were portraying.

“Where is the country going if the police are corrupt, something needs to be done,” he said.

Mr Tonga accused the Ministry of Home Affairs for the continued corruption acts in the police force as it was the mother body.

He said government must not tolerate the bad behaviors of corruption the police have been engaging themselves in.

He further said when issues like corruption in law enforcement bodies like the police, it was a wakeup call that something needed to be done to clear up the mess.

Mr Tonga urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to put up strong polices and punitive measures that would apply on police officers found wanting.