Wed, 20 Dec 2017 11:08:57 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
INSPECTOR General of Police Kakoma Kanganja yesterday cancelled the induction of eight Chinese nationals as Zambia Police reserves barely 24 hours after they were recruited following a public backlash.
On Monday, Mr. Kanganja announced the induction of the eight Chinese nationals but social media poured its wrath on the service, branding it as lacking direction by using colonial laws to back their decisions.
Police public relations officer Esther Mwata Katongo initially maintained that there was nothing illegal with the recruitment as it was backed by the Zambia Police Reserve Act, Cap 117 which says where any person volunteering for service in the reserve is not a citizen of Zambia, he may, on enrolment, in the discretion of the Inspector-General, in lieu of making the declaration of allegiance required by subsection make a declaration of obedience in such manner as he may declare to be most binding on his conscience.
But the statement only sparked more debate as civil and political rights activists took turns to condemn the police with some saying giving a chance to the Chinese to be in the police service would be like giving an exclusive permit to them to start ferrying Mukula logs out of the country as they were allegedly the major culprits in the scourge.
Delving into the debate, former State House press aid Dickson Jere said there was no justification whatsoever from the police command to back the recruitment of Chinese as police reserves as the Act they were using was a colonial legislation.
“The PR lady of the police argues that the Zambia Police Reserve Act, Chapter 117 of the Laws of Zambia, allows foreigners to be part of the police reservists and does not discriminate. By the way, this is the colonial legislation of 1950!
“Our own constitution (as amended in 2016) in Article 194(a) clearly states that any Zambian who has dual citizenship cannot join the defence force and security services, which includes the Zambia police. So you stop your own citizens from joining the police because they have dual citizenship and yet you allow Chinese who have no links whatsoever to this soil to be part of the same police service? Food for thought,” Mr. Jere said.
He said that there was nothing nationalistic and patriotic in recruiting foreigners in the service and that while the country was grappling with illegal logging of the Mukula tree, it was wrong to recruit foreigners in the service as they could be aids to the scourge.
