Security sector reform in Zimbabwe: Scrutinising the rationale for police reform

Abstract

ABSTRACT Studies on security sector reform in Zimbabwe have largely taken the radical view that more often than not, the military has acted undemocratically through uttering and overseeing an array of operations meant to stifle democracy. Using document analysis, this article argues that police reform in Zimbabwe is imperative in ensuring the safety of the citizens who have since 1980 fallen victim to police unprofessionalism. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that any insightful discussion on security sector reform in Zimbabwe should take into account the role police have occupied in propping up ZANU PF since independence in 1980. Notwithstanding the volatile political environment that prevailed, it is the argument of this paper that the police were central to the survival of ZANU PF through the systematic execution of violence against the opposition; ignoring cases of political violence brought to them or even the ones they witnessed; carrying out politically-motivated arrests and dismissing alleged anti-ZANU PF police officers. It is therefore significant for Zimbabwe to speed up efforts to train and equip the police force with the requisite skills and weaponry so that they execute their duties within the confines of the country’s constitution.