Zimbabwe Republic Police has launched an internal investigation to identify “unruly elements” within its ranks following the leak of a memo addressed to commanders.
The leaked memo was ordering provincial police commanders to approve opposition political rallies unless there are compelling reasons.
ZRP has in the past week banned six planned opposition Citizens Coalition for Change rallies.
In a statement, ZRP said it has since launched an inquiry to ascertain the motive behind the leaking of the memo.
“The ZRP has taken note of an internal memorandum directed to Police commanders from Commander 2023 Harmonised Elections which was leaked to the media,” read the statement.
“The ZRP advises the public and the media that the leaked memorandum was a communication guide which was meant for police commanders not for public or media consumption.
“We do not condone leakage of internal memoranda by unruly elements within the system. The ZRP is now conducting investigations with the view of identifying the culprit and finding the motive behind.”
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In the memo, police bosses advised officers commanding provinces, the support unit, and police intelligence not to block political parties as it discredited the electoral processes.
“The President has on numerous occasions also preached the gospel of peace and tolerance ahead of the impending elections. It is against this background that commanders are urged to ensure that all the processes relating to elections are done peacefully and in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13 and the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) Chapter 11:23.
“Of late, social media has been awash with incidents where some political parties claim to have been denied the right to hold their rallies by the police resulting in skirmishes.
“These skirmishes are discrediting the electoral processes, as such, commanders are requested to ensure that political parties are allowed to hold rallies unless there are very valid reasons to warrant such rejections. Under such circumstances, Regulating Authorities are urged to thoroughly consult before coming up with decisions to deny any political player an opportunity to hold a rally or meeting.
“Commanders should note that for elections to be deemed free. fair, peaceful and credible, the playing field should be reckoned as level, hence the Police actions should not discredit the electoral processes,” reads part of the memo.