Maravi

Cops taking bribes not supposed to be in the system - Sakeni

Cops taking bribes not supposed to be in the system - Sakeni
By Moses Kuwema
Tue 02 Oct. 2012, 14:10 CAT

CHIEF government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni says Copperbelt police officers who have vowed to continue receiving bribes from illegal copper dealers are not supposed to be in the system.

And Transparency International Zambia executive director Goodwell Lungu says it is extremely unjustifiable for the officers to cite poor conditions of service for engaging in corruption.

Commenting on some police officers on the Copperbelt who have vowed to continue receiving bribes and working with illegal copper dealers until the government starts giving them good salaries, Sakeni said the action by the police officers was "the worst kind of indiscipline".

"An officer of the state cannot be making such statements, no matter how aggrieved such a person is, they know the chain of command and how to go about it, not using threats. Such officers are not supposed to be called police officers, they are not supposed to be in the police service in the first place or indeed in any government service," he said.

Sakeni said corruption is not justifiable.

"A crime is a crime, those are just criminal minded fellows. They are just trying to hide in the issue of low salaries. That is very unbecoming behaviour of those officers, I am sure the ministries responsible should dig deeper and establish who these characters are and boot them out. We don't need such kind of officers in the police service, who dare government. They are not supposed to be in those jobs," he said.

Sakeni said the officers should appreciate the government's efforts in trying to better the working conditions of everyone in the public service, including those in the defence and security wings.

"The government is also working towards harmonising salaries for the defence and security wings. We cannot do this overnight. From the onset we are doing something towards that," said Sakeni.

And Lungu bemoaned the attitude of the officers, whom he said wanted to dent the image of the police service.

"We wish to advise them to desist from justifying their engagement in corrupt practices. This is so because even if the government was to increase salaries, these few officers would still continue engaging in corrupt activities," Lungu said.

He said his organisation was aware of a number of police officers that earn very little money but had continued to uphold their integrity by not engaging in corrupt practices.

Lungu further called on the government to seriously consider increasing police officers' salaries by next year.

And Police Inspector General Stella Libongani has stated that they have instituted investigations to bring to book officers who have vowed to continue receiving bribes from illegal copper dealers on the Copperbelt.

She stated that the police would conduct thorough investigations and bring to book anyone involved in taking bribes from illegal copper dealers.

"As law enforcement officers, we shall not hesitate to bring to book such indisciplined officers who not only fail to follow the good laid down communication procedure in place for airing grievances but also engage themselves in illegal activities," stated Libongani.

Labels: CORRUPTION, KENNEDY SAKENI, POLICE

posted by MrK @ 4:27 PM