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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
POLICE in Manicaland will increase their visibility in public spaces and highways in an effort to maintain the prevailing peaceful environment as the country moves towards the August 23 harmonised elections, a senior Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer has said.
Zimbabwe goes to the polls on August 23 to elect the Head of State, members of the House of Assembly and local authority councillors.
Generally, a peaceful environment has permeated across Manicaland without reports of major scenes of confrontation and violence being recorded, exactly a month before the watershed plebiscite.
Fielding questions from journalists during a ZRP media interface meeting held at Mutare Central Police Station on Wednesday, Officer Commanding police in Manicaland, Assistant Commissioner Arnold Makomo said the law enforcers in the province are prepared to impartially deal with any forms of violence ahead of the elections.
“As police, we are prepared 100 percent for the elections. Our visibility will increase as we go towards the harmonised elections. In terms of violence, we encourage anyone who is assaulted or threatened to go and make a report and not to retaliate.
“We are increasing our security on the roads around the province to make sure that people do not travel around with weapons that are meant to foment violence,” he said.
Asst Comm Makomo said armed robberies have been a cause for concern in Manicaland, but police remain on top of the situation through numerous arrests that have been made.
“There has been a number of armed robbery cases that were reported in Chipinge, Nyanga and Rusape. A lot of people have also been arrested in connection with such cases.
“I will not hesitate to tell you that police are on top of the situation. The strategies that were implemented by my predecessors are the same strategies that we will continue practicing to make sure that we contain the situation,” he said.
On issues related to child marriages, Asst Comm Makomo said: “The new amendments to the law are clear that a child is anyone below the age of 18 years. If anyone marries a person under the age of 18, he will be committing a crime.
“If there are people with information on where a child below the age of 18 has been married off, let them come forward with tip-offs so that we can make arrests. We encourage you, the media, to join hands with us so that people are aware that such acts are criminal.”
Comm Makomo guaranteed the safety of journalists before, during and after the elections in the execution of their duties.
The objective of the ZRP media interface meeting was to share notes in pertinent issues, noting grey areas and finding solutions to noted issues while at the same time strengthening symbiotic relationships.
Online Reporter