Absence of police worries Kimasala councillor

—Island residents in Solwezi district have expressed worry that crime rate in the area will escalate if the police post remain closed.

Kimasala Ward councillor, Dickson Chitambala, said in an interview with ZANIS that people in the area are living in fear that criminals will take advantage of the closure of the police post and start terrorizing them.

Councillor Chitambala said his ward has a high crime rate and it is risky to live without police presence in the area.

The police command in North Western withdraw police officers from Kyawama Police Post last month after the Officer In Charge was assaulted and the police post damaged by residents during a riot that was sparked by the killing of a 14-year-old girl by police vehicle.

Councillor Chitambala said that Kimasala Compound has become a home for most foreign traders, a situation he described as vulnerable to criminal activities in the ward.

And North Western Province Commissioner of police, Eugene Sibote, said police are ready to resume operations in the area if the people show commitment and provide a building where officers could operate from.

Mr Sibote explained that the opening of a police post in Kyawama was a local arrangement between the police provincial command and the community in Kimasala ward

Mr Sibote said currently police is only able to carry out patrols in the area.