SCORES of police details were left stranded after heavy rains received on Wednesday this week destroyed their makeshift tent bases in Chipinge, leaving them with no place to operate from or sleep.
The heavy downpours received in different parts of Zimbabwe this week destroyed the tents that serve as temporary bases in some areas, where construction of permanent structures has not commenced.
Junior police officers pleaded with authorities to address the issue urgently as the destruction has disrupted essential operations and compromised their well-being.
NewsDay gathered that on Wednesday night, some police officers in Chipinge district, Manicaland province and Masvingo province had to spend the night struggling to find alternative accommodation after their tents were either flooded or destroyed.
Junior officers blamed their superiors for the mishaps saying they had taken long to replace the obsolete tents.
“We have had several inspections and each time, the bosses notice that the tents need to be replaced, but they do not mention that when they report back,” a police detail, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NewsDay.
“They report back that everything is fine yet it will be a looming disaster when they see the old tents. We have been reduced to vagrants.”
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that some tents had been destroyed in Zimuto and the case is being addressed.
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“I have been briefed about Zimuto. It has been communicated to the command and the matter is being addressed,” he said.
Nyathi said there were no tents destroyed in Chipinge, accusing some “mischievous members of wanting to cause misunderstanding among the public, media and police command”.
“They [members] are using social media to cause chaos in the system,” he said.
However, the junior police officers appealed for Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga’s intervention in their plight.
“This is the beginning of the rainy season, so authorities should treat this as an urgent matter,” another police officer, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“We need better working conditions for us to exercise our duties with diligence. Surely we can’t worry about broken down tents when policing is a crucial service in communities.”
They added that their dignity had been washed away by the torrential rains.
Police have over the years complained about poor remuneration and poor conditions of service, among other issues.
A few months ago, officers at Borrowdale Police Station bemoaned the state of their toilets, saying in a normal situation, they would have long been shut down.
They said what made things worse was the fact that Borrowdale provided policing services to some of the country’s most affluent suburbs, where members of the Presidium, ministers, top government bureaucrats and envoy reside.
