POLICE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER-NOBERT MUMBA
Hon Jack Mwimbu’s statement yesterday was perhaps the most terse statement to be issued by a government official in a long time. Understandably he was very disappointed, he was angry. Indeed the public and some senior opposition party officials abused the Republican President unjustifiably as it was police action not the President’s action that triggered the debacle.
I however think the Inspector General of Police and Hon Mwimbu as Home Affairs Minister must take responsibility for what happened. Given the culture that has developed in the country where every government wrong is attributed to the President and UPND government is largely responsible for this culture, IG ought to have known what would follow.
Firstly, as a seasoned investigator myself the drama was unnecessary. There are drones which obviously can easily confirm presence of the vehicle in the yard.
2. There are summons which could have been used to call the suspect and suspect asked to surrender the vehicle to police as the drone would have already verified its presence.
3. There is also what is called dusk to dawn surveillance, by this you make sure the identified property if movable stays in its place as you invoke recovery procedures.
4. You must always give the suspect an opportunity to be heard for a balanced story to avoid embarrassment. From Hon Mwimbu’s statement judgment had already been passed that complainant had told a true story but now the other side of the story brings a different perspective.
5. The actions to retrieve the vehicle if necessary didn’t require the drama of a recovery vehicle attempting to breakdown a gate and the platoons of troops as all police officers are trained in obstacle crossing. Only a few officers armed with an electric grinder needed to access to cut the locking mechanism from inside. But more importantly from the live coverage no one was even resisting only correct documentation was being requested.
6. To the opposition political party leaders particularly the PF it was shameful to demean the institution of President in that manner. UPND can be excused for its behaviour of heaping everything on the President while in opposition because it has never been in government but you know how government works, your know the importance of preserving the integrity of the office of President so you ought and must act responsibly.
At the very least one of you should have been calling the President to request a better way of handling this.
Finally, my appeal to all law enforcement officers is to stay conscious that all your actions are carried out in the name of the President and this therefore demands professional conduct this includes being truthful when we request the judiciary for search warrants. Question is was the motor vehicle really stolen?