News / Regional
Chief Ndiweni, police clash
02 May 2016 at 11:40hrs | Views
CHIEF Ndiweni has petitioned police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri following a fresh confrontation with police in Ntabazinduna after they shut down a vocational training centre opened at one of their bases with the traditional leader's backing. The chief once sought the closure of the police training depot in Ntabazinduna to make way for a vocational training centre.
Two weeks ago, the chief supported the opening of a vocational training centre at a police base but it was closed by the police last Friday. Chief Ndiweni said yesterday that the police closed Dunlop Vocational Training Centre saying it was being operated by an unregistered non-governmental organisation.
The chief led some of his subjects to protest against the closure of the training centre at the police base. Chief Ndiweni said he had petitioned Commissioner General Chihuri to transfer police officers at Ntabazinduna Police Base saying relations with the community had broken down.
"We engaged an NGO that wants to build an orphanage in Ntabazinduna and they've said they can assist us resuscitate Dunlop Vocational Training Centre. The VTC has been operating for the past two and half weeks and suddenly police told us that we should shut it down as it's not registered with Umguza Rural District Council," he said.
"The uptake of the programme by the youths has been overwhelming. On Thursday the police told me that the VTC should be closed as it was unregistered. I engaged the police and we agreed that the training centre could operate pending registration which takes less than five working days. The officer in charge of Mbembesi Police Station however overruled the decision by his juniors and closed the training centre on Friday."
National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi could not immediately comment on the matter yesterday saying he was travelling. Chief Ndiweni said there was bad blood between the police and members of the community.
Citing another example of the bad blood, he said: "I told them the other day to stop the distribution of food aid as it was getting dark but they continued. A number of elderly people were as a result robbed of their allocations on their way home."
Two weeks ago, the chief supported the opening of a vocational training centre at a police base but it was closed by the police last Friday. Chief Ndiweni said yesterday that the police closed Dunlop Vocational Training Centre saying it was being operated by an unregistered non-governmental organisation.
The chief led some of his subjects to protest against the closure of the training centre at the police base. Chief Ndiweni said he had petitioned Commissioner General Chihuri to transfer police officers at Ntabazinduna Police Base saying relations with the community had broken down.
"The uptake of the programme by the youths has been overwhelming. On Thursday the police told me that the VTC should be closed as it was unregistered. I engaged the police and we agreed that the training centre could operate pending registration which takes less than five working days. The officer in charge of Mbembesi Police Station however overruled the decision by his juniors and closed the training centre on Friday."
National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi could not immediately comment on the matter yesterday saying he was travelling. Chief Ndiweni said there was bad blood between the police and members of the community.
Citing another example of the bad blood, he said: "I told them the other day to stop the distribution of food aid as it was getting dark but they continued. A number of elderly people were as a result robbed of their allocations on their way home."
Source - chronicle
