By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja has directed all provincial police commissioners to act and severely deal with perpetrators of violence and other election related crime without waiting for instructions.
Mr Kanganja said action should be taken without looking at who is involved or which political party the perpetrator belongs to adding that such acts should be dealt with without fear of favor.
Zanis reports that Mr Kanganja said commissioners should proactively detect and respond to incidents of violence before they degenerate into chaos.
“I wish to direct all provincial commissioners to be proactive by detecting and responding to incidents of violence before they degenerate into chaos. Commissioners should act and deal sternly with perpetrators of violence and election related crime and not wait for them to be told what to do,” Mr Kanganja said.
Speaking in Solwezi today during a meeting with senior police officers, Mr Kanganja said commissioners should not sit idle and allow criminal acts to continue taking center stage in the country to an extent where life is lost and property damaged.
“Deal with the perpetrators as individuals, don’t look at which political party they belong to. Crime is crime and a criminal is a criminal and must be treated as such,” he said.
The Inspector General of Police called on officers to be wary of causes of violence and devise strategies that would counter them in order to effectively police areas.
“Once you clearly understand the causes of violence in your areas, you will make your job much easier by quickly determining the best course of action to deter bad vices from occurring,” he said.
Speaking during the same meeting, North-western province Commissioner of Police Joel Njase said the province has remained void of political violence due to increased random patrols in identified hotspot areas.
Mr Njase said political parties have also been complying with the political campaign schedule provided by the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
“Our regulating officers have done a commendable job, they have been ensuring that before approving any notification, they check with the campaign schedules,” he said.
Speaking when Mr Kanganja called on him at his office, North-western province Permanent Secretary Willies Mangimela commended police officers in the province for taking control of the situation and ensure that the province remains violent free.
Mr Mangimela called on political parties to continue campaigning peacefully adding that violence brings anarchy and lawlessness and is detrimental to achieving national development.
Mr Kanganja is in the province to assess the security situation and also check on the deployment pattern of officers.
