BULAWAYO--About 500 activists from the Women of Zimbabwe Arise held protests in front of Bulawayo Police Headquarters on Tuesday morning demanding the urgent reform of countrys police force.
The WOZA activists began their protest march at the Bulawayo Magistrates before marching for about four blocks of streets to the Police headquarters in the city, Southampton House where they picketed.
Jenni Williams, the WOZA spokesperson, in an interview said the activists held the protests march to demand the urgent setting up of an independent commission to investigate the countrys police.
We are demanding the setting up of an independent commission to investigate the crimes that have and are being committed by the police everyday, Williams said in an interview.
Police did not arrest the WOZA activists.
We want the urgent reform of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). We want a police service and not a police force. We want the police to adhere to the correct procedures of arrest and treatment of suspects in detention.
Reform of the countrys police force is one of the key terms of a power sharing deal signed between President Robert Mugabe and the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The countrys police force stands accused of being partisan, ignoring crimes committed by Zanu-PF activists but indiscriminately cracking down on MDC and civic society activists.
Police were in 2008 accused of directing attacks on opposition and civic society activists during the internationally condemned one man presidential run-off that Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of citing intimidation and violence.
Williams added: We are demanding that the co-Home Affairs Ministers and the Commissioner of Police ensure that police behave in a partisan manner. Police should stop the indiscriminate arrests and arresting to investigate of suspects.
The protest march by the WOZA activists come days after 25 activists from the pressure group were arrested for holding protests in the capital, Harare .
According to a statement by WOZA, the peaceful Harare protest was to highlight community safety issues and police behavior in communities, before they handed over a list of demands for members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Police Commissioner and the co-Ministers of Home Affairs to police officers stationed outside Parliament.
Post published in: Politics