The Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) last week handed over a letter and petition to the police’s general headquarters in Harare, in an effort to promote transparency and accountability in the police force. The CAC director Terry
Mutsvangwa said the public had the right to know where the funds collected at roadblocks were being channelled to.
“As CAC, we are not saying Commissioner Chihuri is abusing the funds, but we are just demanding to know where the money is going,” he said.
The number of roadblocks across the country has for months enraged Zimbabweans, who are forced to pay on-the-spot fines for a range of ‘offences’. A source who recently visited Zimbabwe told SW Radio Africa that the roadblock situation is “out of control.” The source counted 29 separate roadblocks on a single journey from Harare to Bulawayo last month, adding that the police “would even take your drinks if you didn’t have any money.”
Public affairs commentator Precious Shumba told SW Radio Africa that the roadblocks are widely condemned as “a corrupt, illegal, unjustified burden on the public.”
“People are being asked to part with their money at every single roadblock for anything the police say they have done wrong. People feel like criminals. They are inconvenienced all the time at these extortionate roadblocks,” Shumba said.
He welcomed the CAC petition for raising awareness about the issue, but said it was unlikely to make a real difference.
“I doubt the police will take it seriously, because the police justification is that the roadblocks are for policing and they are maintaining law and order,” Shumba said. SW Radio Africa
Post published in: News