admin
Freeman Razemba Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Republic Police team has left the country today to join other counterparts in the region for the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisations Games in Tanzania.
The 11th Edition of the SARPCCO Games will be held from September 1 to September 15 and the ZRP is expected to send a total of 175 athletes to participate in the Games.
The games are meant to create a platform for police officers from the region to engage in fruitful interaction, sharing ideas on policing traditions and fostering regional friendship, understanding and cooperation through sport.
In 2019, the ZRP won the overall trophy at the 10th edition of these games, which were held in Angola, for the fifth time in a row.
Team Zimbabwe scooped 20 gold, 25 silver and 21 bronze medals to make it a total of 66 medals.
Namibia came second with 17 gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals.
Angola were third with nine gold, seven silver and 13 bronze, Mozambique had three gold, one silver and five bronze to scoop nine medals.
Team Zimbabwe also received trophies for netball, athletics and darts.
Addressing the officers last week, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said as the officers embark on this campaign, Government continues to take pride in their exceptional performance in previous sporting competitions.
“Furthermore, sport affords you an opportunity, as police officers, to mix and mingle, share the joys and complexities of contemporary policing. I have also noticed that over the years, the Zimbabwe Republic Police has been sending a full contingent to all editions of the SARPCCO Games. I must concede that this feat could not be possible without the longstanding support we continuously receive from members of the public and the corporate world,” Minister Kazembe said.
SARPCCO is the primary force in Southern Africa in the prevention and fighting of cross-border crimes.
Formed in 1995 in Zimbabwe, the organisation has firmly established itself as a benchmark for international police cooperation.
This regional organisation is supported by the Sub-Regional Bureau of Interpol in Harare, which coordinates its activities and programmes.
Priority crimes in the SADC region are terrorism, motor vehicle thefts, drugs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, economic and commercial crimes, firearms and explosives, trafficking in gold, diamonds and other precious stones and metals, crimes against women and children, illegal immigrants and stolen and lost travel documents, wildlife crime and endangered species and human trafficking.
Online Reporter