Municipal police to be retrained following new Bill

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has announced plans to retrain municipal police officers following Cabinet's approval of the principles of the Municipal Police and Courts Bill, which will grant municipal police powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders.

The proposed legislation will enable local authorities to enforce by-laws more effectively by dealing independently with minor offences, traffic violations and other municipal infringements.

Speaking in an interview, Mafume welcomed the proposed reforms but acknowledged concerns over the conduct of some municipal police officers, saying the city would identify and retrain those whose behaviour had damaged public confidence.

"It's a welcome development that there is a Bill on municipal police to have arresting powers and courts. We applaud the government for that," Mafume said.

"But there are qualms around the behaviour of certain municipal police officers. We have some bad apples and we are going to identify them and retrain the police officers."

He said rebuilding trust between residents and municipal police would be a key priority as the force assumes expanded responsibilities.

The mayor expressed confidence in the leadership of the municipal police, noting that the unit is headed by former assistant commissioner Obey Law Moyo, previously deputy director of the Zimbabwe Republic Police's Commercial Crimes Unit within the Criminal Investigation Department.

He also praised the city's senior management team, including senior legal officer and acting chamber secretary Ernest Mushava and acting town clerk Warren Sean Chiwawa.

"There is a trust deficit among the citizens, and we are trying to rebuild that at all cost," Mafume said.

"You know Harare City Council is a city of three million people, and you cannot police by persuasion and by morale issues alone. We have a lot of issues to deal with, such as by-laws."

Mafume, however, cautioned municipal police officers against abusing their authority once the new legislation comes into effect, warning that unlawful conduct could expose both individual officers and the local authority to legal action.

"If you detain someone illegally, you can be sued," he said.

The Municipal Police and Courts Bill seeks to strengthen local governance by giving municipal police statutory law enforcement powers while establishing municipal courts to deal with by-law offences, minor crimes and traffic violations. Government says the reforms are intended to improve public safety, service delivery and enforcement of local authority regulations.