Kanganja rescinds appointment of Chinese nationals as police reservists following public outcry
By Staff Reporter
Inspector General of Police, Kakoma Kanganja has rescinded the appointment of Chinese nationals as police reservists.
Kanganja said the decision was made after making wide consultations following public outcry which came after the engagement of eight Chinese nationals into the Zambia Police reserve wing on Monday.
Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said members of the public should be aware that the appointments were not done outside the Law but within the provisions of the Zambia Police Reserve Act, Chapter 117 of the Laws of Zambia.
However, earlier on Tuesday, Lusaka lawyer Dickson Jere argued that the piece of legislation the police were relying upon was archaic and superseded by the provisions of the amended constitution of 2016.
“Our own constitution (as amended in 2016) in Article 194(a) clearly states that any Zambian who has dual citizenship cannot join the Defence Force and Security Services, which includes Zambia Police Service. So you stop your own citizens from joining the police because they have dual citizenship and yet you allow Chinese who have no links whatsoever to this soil to be part of the same police service….food for thought,” Jere stated.
