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THERE are some “wrong elements” in the police, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Solomon Jere has said.
Dr Jere said the police do not get any instructions from politicians but that some police officers are just overzealous.
“We have wrong elements in the police. Some officers are just overzealous in executing their duties and end up doing wrong things,” he said.
Dr Jere was speaking yesterday when he appeared before the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, governance, human rights, gender matters and child affairs.
He was responding to concerns raised by Lufwanyama member of Parliament (MMD) Annie Chungu, who said the police are actually perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV).
Mrs Chungu gave a personal experience as an example of the police perpetrating GBV.
“I was arrested as an MP in Kitwe and made to share a cell with men and was later taken to Kanfinsa, where I spent a night with convicted murderers,” she said.
Mrs Chungu said the police officers that arrested her told her that they were working under instructions from Lusaka.
Dr Jere also submitted to the committee that women are increasingly becoming violent.
“The statistics we have indicate that there’s more violence against women but the trend now is that more women are killing their spouses even through poisoning,” he said.
And Dr Jere says there is no militia in the PF as being purported by some sections of society.
“We don’t tolerate anyone forming a militia. Sometimes these cadres just want to show their mightybut we have the capacity to handle them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Jere says the police command has written to police officers who are prosecutors to choose between remaining in the police service and joining the newly-established National Prosecutions Authority.
Due to time constraint, committee chairperson Jack Mwiimbu (UPND, Monze Central MP) asked Dr Jere to appear again before the committee as issues were not yet exhausted.
And earlier, Caritas Zambia, a Catholic-led non-governmental organisation , said the Church has deliberately stayed away from politics.
Unit Head for Programmes at Caritas Eugene Kabilika said: “The Church wants to stand aloof to issues of politics.”
Mr Kabilika said the Catholic Church sometimes speaks the same language with the Government or those in the opposition but that does not make Catholics politicians.
He was responding to a question by Mwandi MP (MMD) Michael Kaingu, who alleged that when MMD was in Government, the Catholic Church was outspoken.
