Maputo, 20 Mar (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Thursday called on the country’s police agents to avoid all acts which damage the good image of the police force and of the Mozambican state.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the police academy (ACIPOL) on the outskirts of Maputo, Chapo stressed that the behaviour of the police must be impartial, transparent and sensitive to the needs of the people.
He added that the country still faces many challenges linked to crime, and the use of science and technology is fundamental “to allow us to forecast and control criminal phenomena”.
Police operations happen inside the community, and so the police must avoid “acts which besmirch the good image of the force”, said Chapo. That meant that “damaging pratices such as corruption, extortion, clientelism, nepotism, lack of discipline and failure to respect citizens, are not acceptable in the force”.
These were practices which “bring discredit on our Mozambican State, and you represent the authority of this State”, he stressed.
The newly trained police officers, said the President, are joining the force at a challenging moment for Mozambique “characterised by organised and transnational crime, illegal, violent and criminal demonstrations, public disorder, lack of respect for the agents of law and order, and sabotage of the economy”.
Chapo urged the Acipol leadership to pay particular attention to civic and patriotic education, particularly on such matters as human rights, international humanitarian law, terrorism, organised crime, mediation of conflicts and the environment.
“We believe that these components can give an added value to police training, which we would like to see imbued with a sense of State, patriotism and serving our people”.
Chapo did not mention any specific examples, but the involvement of some police officers in organised crime was exposed on Wednesday when the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) announced that seven people had been detained in connection with the kidnapping and murder of an Indian businessman in the southern city of Chokwe. Two of those detained are members of the police force.
(AIM)
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