Dar es Salaam: Media stakeholders want police force reformed

BY DAVID KISANGA.

Media stakeholders yesterday called for the restructuring of the police force to minimise violence by some of its members against innocent citizens.

They said the legislation under which the force was founded is both colonial and undermines people’s freedom.

“The force is still using colonial laws which are based on protecting rulers, leading to the undermining of the people’s rights of freedom,” said media guru Jenerali Ulimwengu.

He said this in Dar es Salaam when delivering a keynote address at a Media Council of Tanzania meeting discussing police violence against civilians.

He gave the example of the National Service which was created in 1963 during the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere era but was later restructured and merged with the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF).

He said although Tanzania is independent, the laws governing the police force are still linked to the colonial era and thus wantonly violating human rights.

During the British rule, Ulimwengu said violation of human rights was a common phenomenon because it aimed at terrorising people who challenged those in power.

He said that many civil society organisations in the country have been reporting violence committed by police against innocent civilians but to the chagrin of the public no action has been taken against them.

“It’s time that the police stopped performing their duties by heeding political directives,” he stressed.

“We should not allow impunity to rule the country because it threatens the freedom of citizens,” he said, adding that government should take punitive action against officers who violate human rights.

Prof Issa Shivji, who chaired the meeting’s first discussion, cited a 2012 report released by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) which showed that brutality of police resulted in the killing of 25 people every year.

He noted that there have been no reports whether actions have been taken against the culprits behind such violence.

“We have to speak this matter widely and openly so that people can know the evils done by the police,” he stressed.

Prof Shivji said the cardinal duty of the police is to protect the people and their property and not to hunt them like wild animals.

In a quick rejoinder, retired judge Thomas Mihayo pointed out that people won’t be safe if police perform their duties by heeding political wishes.

He said that in the eyes of the public the police are seen not performing their duties as they were assigned during their college training.

Media Owners Association of Tanzania (MOAT) Chairman Reginald Mengi meanwhile said that the police force harbours both ethical and unethical elements.

He said the problems that journalists face in the country can also be experienced by ordinary citizens because the police force is the same.

He cited the example of a case fabricated against his son, saying it made him believe that “not all police officers are unethical.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=54699