Dilapidated buildings haunt police in Mzuzu

Mzuzu Police Station officer in-charge Lovemore Mwabumba has bemoaned shortage of office space and the poor state of buildings at the facility, saying working in dilapidated blocks affects service provision.

He spoke of the antiquated buildings yesterday at a station executive committee meeting for the city’s community policing.

He said the offices are old and not enough to accommodate all police officers which negatively affects the way law enforcers work.

He said it is difficult to mobilise the officers for rapid response in case of an incident because most of them rent homes in residential areas.

“It becomes difficult for people to report incidents because the offices are congested. There are some cases where our clients need privacy, but they are forced to make complaints in overcrowded offices where other people are also reporting their cases,” he said.

Mwabumba also lamented limited space for cells which makes suspects endure overcrowding.

Committee chairperson Chatonda Mbale said the breakdown in the welfare of police officers has to be taken seriously as it can lead to security lapses in the city. n