Byo residents demand real policing reforms beyond name change

Bulawayo residents have cautiously welcomed proposals to rename Zimbabwe’s “police force” as a “police service”, but warned that the move will be meaningless without deep reforms in conduct, accountability and service delivery. The views were aired during a public hearing at Stanley Hall, where residents and police officers submitted their input on proposed amendments to the Police Act. It also proposes a fixed five-year term for the Commissioner-General, renewable once, with the office holder required to comply with written policy directives from the minister responsible for policing.

While many participants applauded the alignment with the Constitution, they said the reforms must translate into tangible improvements in how police interact with communities. One resident said the term “police force” evoked memories of colonial repression and should have been scrapped soon after independence. “I appreciate what MPs have done because this is long overdue,” he said.

“The word ‘force’ kept reminding us of the BSAP. Section 219 of the Constitution says the police must protect the people and their property. If it is now a police service, we must be able to demand a service, because at the moment the police are not protecting everyone, they protect a certain section of society.” He said residents in Bulawayo’s western suburbs had been forced to organise neighbourhood watch patrols because of weak police presence.

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“In the western suburbs we protect ourselves. I was forced to join a neighbourhood watch committee and patrol while police are sleeping. That is not proper,” he said, adding that residents were also contributing money to fund community security.

The resident recalled the death of a neighbourhood watch member in Emakhandeni last year and questioned whether the police had supported the family left behind. “We are going to demand the police to patrol – it is their job,” he said. Another participant, Andrew Ndlovu, said aligning laws with the Constitution was necessary but insufficient.

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