Kalaba knocks Police boss, Musamba, over comments on ‘junkie policemen’, calls for his sack

The Inspector-General of Police, Graphael Musamba, has been condemned for saying that the Police Service will start dismissing what he termed “junkie” policemen.

This did not sit well with some opposition political party leaders, one of whom is Citizens First president, Harry Kalaba, who expressed his disappointment.

Kalaba argued that the policemen being branded as “junkie” were initially recruited under the previous regime, the Patriotic Front (PF).

He said this in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday.

The party leader reminded the Inspector-General of Police that President Hakainde Hichilema, when elected into power in 2021, had pledged to re-assess dismissals of civil servants, including the defence and security operatives that were allegedly dismissed due to political, ethnic or tribal reasons.

“As one of the contenders in the 2021 presidential elections, I also campaigned on this premise and, therefore, agreed to make it my number one goal to ensure that the President lived up to that promise,” Kalaba stated.

He further advocated for the prompt reinstatement of all those affected.

“While we appreciate that some people were reinstated, we raised our concerns on the double standards with which the reinstatement was done with others being rehired on contract rather than re instating them unconditionally,” Kalaba said.

He expressed dismay that the actions taken by the Zambia Police, under Musamba’s leadership, contradict the stance of his Commander-in-Chief, who vehemently opposed politicizing the civil service, particularly those in uniform.

“Perhaps it’s a question of his appointing authority doing what he knows best of saying one thing and doing the exact opposite,” Kalaba said.

He urged Hichilema to remove Musamba from the position of Inspector-General and appoint someone with an unbiased disposition to assume the role, suggesting that Musamba could be reassigned to other UPND duties if he aimed to depoliticize the Police and foster professionalism.

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