
Maputo, 8 Oct (AIM) – The General Commander of the Mozambican Police (PRM), Bernadino Rafael, has declared that he does not recognize the Mozambican Police Association (AMOPAIP) because it is illegal.
According to Rafael, who was speaking on Monday, in Maputo, at the graduation ceremony of members of the riot police (UIR), the Mozambican Police (PRM) “are not organized in associations.”
“The Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) are constitutionally prohibited from organizing themselves into associations. That association [AMOPAIP] does not represent the police. The police do not organize themselves into associations”, he said.
This is the first time that the General Commander has ever claimed that AMOPAIP is illegal. However, the association has been making public statements, and nobody, not even the bodies of the administration of justice has denounced it as an illegal body.
According to Rafael, those who are fired from the police or sacked from senior bodies tend to create associations “as a result of their anger.”
“It is outside the law for AMOPAIP to use police symbols”, he added.
Rafael also called on the Police to act with responsibility in order to guarantee public order during Wednesday’s presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections, in which the country’s National Elections Commission (CNE) has registered over 17 million voters to vote, including 333,839 registered in the diaspora.
“You must guarantee public order on elections’ day. The PRM must guarantee safety and security on this important day”, he said.
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(AIM)