Manica commander promises to purge corrupt police

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Manica commander promises to purge corrupt police

7:36 CAT | 29 Sep 2017

File photo / For illustration purposes only

The police commander in the central Mozambican province of Manica, Francisco Simoes, has promised tough action to purge the ranks of the police of all those whose corrupt and otherwise illegal behaviour is staining the reputation and good name of the force.

Speaking at a meeting with the residents of the Third Administrative Post of the provincial capital, Chimoio, he urged the public to denounce to the authorities those policemen who violate the law and abuse their position to seize illicit benefits for themselves.

Such police agents, Simoes said, should be punished in an exemplary fashion in order to discourage behaviour that damages the police force.

“If you discover that there is a policeman involved in corruption or other criminal practices, denounce him quickly”, he added. “We have to work to uncover the truth. If we find it’s true, then this policeman will be expelled from our ranks. The idea is to purify our ranks, and ensure that we have a police that is really serving the citizens”.

He was reacting to the complaints made by members of the public, against police misconduct – particularly by members of the traffic police who, instead of inspecting the vehicles, take bribes from their drivers, particularly the drivers of passenger transport vehicles.

Despite these irregularities, people at the meeting also praised the work undertaken by the police to prevent and fight against crime. They could detect a significant reduction in the number of crimes, thanks to the work of the police.

“The public is satisfied with us”, Simoes claimed. “We heard some complaints from communities in Chimoio, They talked to us about the traffic police and other members of the police involved in corrupt acts, We shall clean house. We shall purge our ranks because we want members who are a credit to the institutions and who are really committed to the fight against crime”.

He promised to strengthen police patrols in the Chimoio neighborhoods – but stressed that the commuities should know the criminals because they come from within the communities.

“They are our children. They live with us in the communities”, he said. “By day they are good people, but at night they become real devils. Let us all collaborate and find the courage to say ‘my son is stealing’. The fight against crime is a task for everyone, and so we have to denounce it. That way we will be playing our part to ensure that we have peace and quiet in our neighbourhoods”.

Source: AIM