Racist ZRPs ban lives on

Although not interested in fulltime employment with the ZRP due to its poor working conditions and very low salaries, whites had, prior to the politicisation of the force by Chihuri, been very active in crime-fighting initiatives like the Neighbourhood Watch Committee.

Chihuri, a war veteran and self-proclaimed supporter of President Robert Mugabes Zanu (PF), accused them of sponsoring an alleged attempt by the MDC to remove Mugabe from power through a mass uprising, unfounded claims that Mugabe coined to harass the then opposition party.

Junior police officers who spoke to The Zimbabwean this week revealed that the ban, which Chihuri imposed through internal police signals in late 2000, was still in place, more than a year since the formation of a unity government between Zanu (PF) and the two MDC formations.

We are still not allowed to involve whites in the NWC because they are considered to be MDC, said a police officer who is stationed within one of the ZRPs recruitment sections in Harare.

The Commissioner still believes that whites are agents of regime change and that their involvement in the NWC might jeopardise the force, as they might be MDC spies coming in just to get internal information and relay it to the MDC.

The junior officers said that the ban came as a blow to their crime-fighting efforts, as the whites had given the ZRP massive material support.

They used to provide their cars with their own fuel for us to attend scenes, especially when police vehicles were unavailable or when there was no fuel, said one officer.

The junior officers added that the whites, some of whom had been nominated to be chief wardens in their areas, also did a wonderful job of patrolling during the night, while others donated stationary to the perennially broke ZRP, which can hardly afford basic operational equipment for its officers.

Politics still remains the top priority ahead of our core-duty of fighting crime and I do not foresee us working with the whites anytime soon, said a senior police officer based in Harare, who also confirmed the ban.

Besides whites, the ZRP recruitment officers said that they were also not allowed to include black Zimbabweans that are suspected of having ties with the MDC, as the bosses, led by Chihuri, suspected that this could compromise the ZRP.

Members of the Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI) do thorough background checks on prospective members of the NWC and those suspected to be belonging to any party other than Zanu (PF) are disqualified immediately.

At times the recruitment officer can also be transferred if he is found to have recruited a suspected member of any other political party, especially the MDC, said the senior officer.

Chihuri is one of Zimbabwes intransigent security chiefs, whose actions are inimical to the inclusive government that is currently running Zimbabwe. He has previously vowed that he will not salute mainstream MDC leader and Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai even if he won the elections, accusing him of being a British puppet.

Chihuri also deployed senior police officers ranking Superintendent and above on a campaign of retribution against suspected MDC supporters in rural Mashonaland, after Tsvangirai had walloped Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential elections.

Between 200 and 500 MDC supporters were killed during that gory operation, code-named Mavhotera Papi? (Who did you vote for?). Thousands of other people were tortured, while others fled into neighbouring countries to live as refugees, after they had their homes burnt by the police, who were being supported by war veterans, Zanu (PF) militia and other supporters of Mugabes party.