MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Ombudsman, Martha Chizuma, has asked the Malawi Police Service to review its relationship with members of the general public lest things get out of control.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Chizuma, said at the moment, there is a sour relationship between Police and the general public and this is recipe for security lapse in the country.
Whilst admitting to the same, National Spokesperson for Malawi Police Service, James Kadadzera, said as much as the status quo leaves alot to be desired, the men in uniform are doing all they can to safeguard their relationship with the public.
“There is strained relationship between the Police and the public; we cannot deny that fact. It is evident with the ever increasing cases of mob justice and vandalism to police property and formations. We have seen this now and again. However, this issue of mistrust between the Police and the public is twofold: the political propaganda that was there before prior to the elections and that there are political cadres in the Police Service,” said Kadadzera.
Statistics has shown that as compared to 2018, there have been 16, 202 crimes representing 3.6 percent increase in 2019 in the Central Region alone. This, according to some experts, is a result of the bad relationship between the Security Agency and the public.
Some Police Units in the country were torched down during mass demonstrations that people conducted in the aftermath of 21 May tripartite elections.
In October this year, one police officer was killed at Msundwe in Lilongwe following a tension that rose between the Police and people there.
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