By Cathy Maulidi:
Police officers working at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa are facing housing challenges, a situation which they say affects the continuity of investigations of cases and hampers access to justice for victims of crime.
This comes at a time motorcycle operators from the camp have been facing attacks and theft of their motorcycles.
Six refugees were also physically attacked between July and December 2023, according to reports.
Station Officer for Dowa Police Eric Sokwane called on organisations and development partners to construct houses for police officers working at the camp.
“Police officers lodge in hostels as they do not have houses in Dowa. They work on a monthly rotational basis, with some coming from Mvera and others from Chezi, among other areas,” Sokwane said.
Inua Advocacy, an organisation that promotes the rights of refugees and asylum seekers at the camp, acknowledged the gap in security within and around the place.
In an interview, the organisation’s advocacy and liaison officer Matchona Phiri said that solving the police housing woes would make a difference in investigations.
“The current setup is that police officers are provided on a monthly rotation basis. This doesn’t work well for the continuity.
“From time to time, some cases fall through the cracks, creating a perception of low responsiveness on the part of the police. I would therefore propose to the Ministry of Homeland Security to consider allocating some of the security houses being constructed to the camp,” he said.
Commissioner of Refugees Ignacio Maulana, from a department under the Ministry of Homeland Security, said there is a committee that has been set up to look into the police and security officers housing situation at the camp.
Maulana said a report will be issued once the committee has concluded reviewing the security issues at Dzaleka.
“I will be able to share with the nation in the coming days the direction we are going to take as far as the police officers housing situation is concerned,” he said.
Dzaleka Refugee Camp was designed to accommodate 12,000 people, but has over 53,000. The highly populated place has one police unity only.
