GOVERNMENT has conceded that the country is now overwhelmed by cases of armed robberies as criminal syndicates smuggle firearms via the country’s porous borders.
Home Affairs deputy minister Ruth Mavhunga-Maboyi made the
disclosure in the National Assembly on Wednesday after MPs expressed concern
over the surge in armed robberies across the country.
MPs accused government and the police of failing to curb
crime in the country. Mavhunga-Maboyi said citizens were now living in fear due
to the increased cases of crime.
“Indeed there is an increase in armed robberies and as
police; we are also disturbed by this issue,” Mavhunga-Maboyi said.
“There are a lot of guns and it looks like guns are coming
in through various places. Our borders are just too big that the police or the
army may not be able to close in tightly,” she said.
Mavhunga-Maboyi said police was hoping to get a new fleet
of vehicles soon to be able to track the armed robbers causing havoc in
different parts of the country.
“The other thing is, yes, the police say they do not have
transport, but some police stations have vehicles, but they are very few. So we
are looking at that, indeed we are not happy with that. We are living in fear,
but we will try.”
Silobela MP Manoki Mpofu (Zanu PF) asked her to further
explain what government was doing to protect people, especially at fuel
stations where he said armed robberies were prevalent.
“When people report to the police, they are told that there
are no vehicles to follow up the criminals. Those robberies are taking place
almost everyday. So what are the police doing?
I hear the minister saying they are trying, but those robberies are
taking place right now. We need to know what strategies are in place.”
The deputy minister could not immediately outline
government strategy to deal with the armed robberies, saying it was a security
issue which could not be publicly disclosed.
“I hear what you are saying, but that is a security issue.
So, I cannot reveal what exactly we intend to do. How many police officers are
going to be deployed, will they be in civilian clothes or not, and how they
will be armed.
“Like I said, we are looking at that, and we are in control
of the situation because all of us are worried about the situation, including
the police themselves. I am sure you heard that a policeman was injured in a
shootout. All those things are very worrisome, but I cannot reveal the strategy
here because it is a security matter,” she said.
In April, Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe told Senate
that some of the armed robberies were being perpetrated by former police
officers and soldiers.
Kazembe said lack of transport was hindering the police
from effectively nabbing the armed gangsters.
“It is, indeed, true that most of these cases of armed
robberies are being done by armed men and women from the police force as well
as the army. I would like to emphasise and indicate that government is, indeed,
working on that.
“Some who resist arrest are being shot. We have two or
three cases like that, the recent case, that of eight, a group we arrested
recently. We have many groups that are involved, but I am happy that police are
doing all they can to fix this issue,” Kazembe said then. Newsday
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