By Delicious Mathuthu
Recently promoted Zimbabwe Republic Police National Spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, has applauded Lower Gweru community on reducing murder cases which had become a burden in the area.
Commissioner Nyathi, addressing hundreds of villagers gathered at Makepesi Business Centre in Lower Gweru, Midlands Province, during a crime awareness campaign on Thursday (23/05/2024), said since the start of the year, no murder case has been recorded so far.
“From January this year, we never got a single case of murder here in Lower Gweru; which means you listen, you follow the law and we hope it will remain that way,” he said.
“The Chief (Chisadza) was telling me that we had a problem here in Lower Gweru as people were fighting, some using knives, iron bars and machetes killing each other but as we speak, there are no more murder cases.”
Commissioner Nyathi said only unity among stakeholders can yield desired positive results.
He said police officers in charge should not go for more than a month without meeting villagers or communities they work in.
He said all problems bedeviling these communities can only be solved if stakeholders come together and map a way forward.
“The problems that we have in our communities can only stop if the police in our areas sit down with our Village Heads, Headmen, Chief, the business community and villagers to discuss how these problems or crimes in the area can be solved.
“Discuss what you want the police to do for you and also how the community can assist police.
“So, that’s why we are saying there should be engagements every month; if these were not being done, I ask the DisPol (District Officer in Charge, Gweru Rural) that from today that should change.
“If we stay together, we are united, we dialogue and work together, we won’t have these crimes,” Commissioner Nyathi said.
He however decried cases of assault, especially domestic violence, which have increased compared to 2023 during the same period up to April.
“We see that issues of assault are still a problem here in Lower Gweru, especially domestic violence.
“As families we need to live together in harmony, no one should beat anyone.
“No one should put the law into their own hands; So if we have a problem as a family we need to talk about it, if it’s a conflict, we have our Village Heads, we have our Chief, our Councilor who can assist us.
“If people resort to violence, at the end we get murder cases and we said here in Lower Gweru we don’t want murder cases,” said Commissioner Nyathi.
He said people should always observe the law and seek police assistance.
From January this year, Commissioner Nyathi said Lower Gweru recorded 26 cases of assault compared to 23 recorded last year over the same period.
Lower Gweru, which is under Gweru Rural District jurisdiction had become notorious for murder cases usually involving knives, axes, machetes, logs and iron bars during beer binges or family conflicts.
