Africa-Press – Malawi. Inspector General of Police, Merlyne Yolamu, has expressed displeasure that her institution continues to be named as the most corrupt institution the country.
She has urged fellow leaders in the police to clean up the image by rooting out corruption in their ranks. Yolamu said this during the End-of-Year party which she hosted at Police Headquarters at Area 30 in Lilongwe on Friday.
She said the Malawi Police Service record has continued to worsen despite mechanisms that the institution has been implementing to reverse the situation.
The Malawi police chief pledged she would deal with the malpractice in the system and urged fellow leaders in the police to rally around the cause. “We all heard about the Afrobarometer report where we feature highly as a corrupt organisation. We cannot deny this reality.
“In 2023 we will take measures to ensure we root out all corrupt elements,” Yolamu told the officers.
She said on December 27 last year, she hosted a high command meeting where the issue was discussed. It led to the setting up of a taskforce to spearhead the fight against corruption in the service.
Yolamu reminded police officers that there is a professional standard unit and a spiritual integrity and counselling unit which are instrumental to curb the vice. The Inspector General also condemned mob justice.
“This conduct is deplorable and inhuman as it denies suspects their right to be heard and [sometimes] robs them the right to life,” she said. She also urged the public to desist from attacking the police, calling the conduct criminal.
“This conduct is criminal; let us engage each other. My door and the door of all police officers are always open to anybody who has concerns,” Yolamu said.
An Afrobarometer survey report released in December last year indicated that the police were topping the corruption chart among 11 public institutions. The report said many Malawians do not think their police operate professionally.
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