Zimbabwe August 2006 |
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| Harare withdraws corrupt police from border posts, (Zimbabwe Situation, 2006-08-11):-Police commissioner Augustine Chihuri has ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers stationed at the country's border posts following serious allegations of corruption.The police officers were deployed at the border posts last week to block individuals from attempting to smuggle back into the country huge amounts of money following recent monetary changes by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). Sources within the police said Chihuri was forced to act after RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, complained to him in a strongly worded letter this week that senior police officers were throwing spanners into the government operation. Gono said the senior police officers were blocking RBZ officials as well as junior police officers and youth militia stationed at the borders from seizing cash being illegally repatriated back into the country. A source within the police told ZimOnline yesterday: "Several senior police officers have been caught shielding their tycoon friends from having their cash confiscated at police roadblocks, a development that has infuriated Chihuri. "Gono yesterday wrote a strongly worded letter complaining about the corrupt tendencies of senior police officers whom he said were tainting the sincerity of the operation and the image of the country," the source said. According to the source, a new team of police officers will soon replace the old one with special instructions to search vehicles belonging to senior police officers who are accused of protecting their friends during the crackdown. Police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed that the withdrawal of the police officers at the border posts but denied that the withdrawal was due to corruption."This operation is being done in good faith and is targeting every corrupt individual whatever position they hold in society. The fact that some police officers have been arrested shows this is a transparent process," he said. Last week, there were reports that the police were taking advantage of the chaos brought about by the government crackdown to rob individuals of their cash as they seized cash below the Z$100 million limit set by the central bank. The Law Society of Zimbabwe and other local human rights groups this week condemned the cash seizures by President Robert Mugabe's government saying they were a violation of human rights. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |