At one such meeting held at Marondera Police Station last week, police urged politicians to be tolerant of rival parties. “We expect political parties to carry out their activities in a peaceful manner. Anyone who perpetrates violence will face the full wrath of the law,” said law and order Chief Inspector Chikono.
The force’s national spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, confirmed the campaign.
“Yes, as I speak we are in Matabeleland conducting crime awareness campaigns. We are engaging the public on how we can arrest criminal activities as a nation. We are covering all types of crimes,” she said in a telephone interview. MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora commended the campaign.
“The police have struck the right cord in the fight against political violence. However, what is important is not just discussing anti-violence but actually arresting those responsible for violence. The police must now walk the talk.”
The spokesperson for MDC led by Welshman Ncube, Hlahla Dube, said it was encouraging that police had finally realised violence has no space in politics. “We just hope political parties will take heed of the call,” he said, adding that the call should be embraced by Zanu (PF) in particular, as it was largely blamed for violent conduct.
Post published in: News