Deputy Inspector General of Police Malcom Mulenga says the abundance of nolle prosequis from the DPP’s office should not be misconstrued as incompetence on the part of police officers.

And Mulenga, who is in charge of operations, has warned citizens against taking advantage of “dialogue being preached about” to break the law.

In a statement today, Mulenga stated that despite many cases ending up in nolles, police were not incompetent.

“Entering of Nolle Prosequi by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should not be misconstrued as incompetence on the part of the police, as there are several reasons that may lead to entering of Nolle Prosequi in particular cases. The Director of Public Prosecutions is not obliged to give reasons for making such a decision as the office is protected by the Law. We therefore, warn members of the public not to push the Police too far as we will not relent in bringing to book all those that come in conflict with the Law,” Mulenga stated.

And Mulenga warned citizens not to take advantage of the dialogue.

“As Zambia Police, we wish to remind members of the public from all sections of society that the reconciliation that is being preached about should not be seen or taken as a weakness on the part of the Police. People should not take advantage of the situation to become disrespectful and abuse human rights and democracy by way of using insolent words towards the authorities or individuals with a view to cause insurrection,” Mulenga stated.

“People should always be sensitive and learn from disturbances that are happening in other countries. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that they become careful and cautious with the statements that they make which have got potential to cause anarchy in the country and erode investor confidence. The peace and stability of this nation that we are currently enjoying is not by accident but as a result of commitment, hard work and concerted efforts by the Zambia Police working with other Security wings in maintaining Law and Order.”

Meanwhile, Mulenga refuted allegations that there was inertia by the Police command to arrest perpetrators of crimes as stated in the today’s Daily Nation newspaper.

“We wish to state that there is no inertia by Police to arrest perpetrators of crimes as stated in the Thursday’s Daily Nation newspaper issue number 1804 dated 26th October, 2017 under the headline ‘Police inertia blamed’. Police has ever worked professionally with zeal and moved in whenever crime has been committed without fear or favour and this is evidently supported by a lot of arrests made in the past,” stated Mulenga.