The state of municipal police

Entrust a wise man with responsibility and they will convert it to power, but entrust it to a fool and they will mistake it with power.

This has been the hallmark of municipal police officers around Zimbabwe. I have noticed them work like mobsters in Harare, demanding some form of payment from vendors. They take it in form of cash or other things that could be converted for such, and in turn the vendors who pay are protected from raids and such.

Just recently it came to my attention it was brought to a case in Masvingo. Apparently the Masvingo municipal police decided to take things to extremes by running over merchandise by the local vendors. In the process of involvement in such a bizarre stunt a child was run over, another life curtailed. For any right thinking individual the above scene is difficult to imagine: a vehicle on sidewalks and pavements, and ultimately the running over of a child in the ensuing melee.

Motor vehicles were never designed to be driven on pavements and sidewalks, and no excuse conceivable to the human mind can be made and accepted in such a case. This inhuman method that the Masvingo municipal police which smacks of a childish glee with a new toy is the apex of irresponsibility. I was reading on what it is that municipal police officers' duty extends to and found that: to safeguard the Zimbabwean law in partnership with the Zimbabwe Republic Police, to safeguard the Urban Councils Act from abuse by residents and to arrest offenders on behalf of the town council and to peacefully harmonise the living conditions of residents. This is clear enough.

Arrest perpetrators. Arrest those who flout the law. Arrest. Arrest. Arrest!

Now this is simple enough, or one would think. I have notice the tractor in service to their Harare counterparts laden with vendors caught in a sting operation. That's arrest. I have noticed Harare municipal trucks with municipal police officers laden with perishables confiscated goods, that's safeguarding the law by taking from the vendors the instruments of their trade. But to attempt to run-over produce on the pavements and sidewalks?

I wonder what that is if not breaking traffic laws in itself. In the aftermath of this murder of an innocent child residents are said to have decided to administer 'mob justice' upon the truck driver and burn the vehicle.

We all realise that is unacceptable that citizens take the law into their own hands, but this was an unavoidable turn of events in light of what was happening. An incensed mob is prone to do anything to satisfy its needs to feel that justice has been carried out. That is why police officers are equipped with knowledge of how to effectively carry out their mandate and not to wilfully break the law, information how to deal with potentially volatile situations and not to be maverick with infantile ideas.

The unfortunate occurrence has led to the arrest of ZINASU Treasurer Tanatswa Chikonyora and a few other residents. Chikonyora is being represented by Mr Hwacha, a lawyer from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

I have not been able to ascertain Chikonyora's role in this tragedy that witnessed the death of an innocent child, but who would persecute those who witnessed the outrageous scene and reacted in anger?

I have questions that still need to be answered: where were the Zimbabwe Republic Police details while this municipal police officer was wilfully endangering the lives of many? Where were his fellow municipal officers while their counterpart was stooping lower than the vendors themselves in breaking the law?