Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Obedingwa Mguni has said that the is nothing wrong at all with police officers, particularly traffic police, urinating and or defecating in public places. The minister defended the practices, after public outcry about this behaviour from police officers who will be manning the country’s numerous road blocks.According to the minister, there is nothing illegal about the conduct since there is no Act of parliament which criminalises the offence. What is ironic though is that the police arrest anyone who they see urinating in public and demand a $5 for the offence.
Addressing Senators on Thursday, Mguni said:
According to the Constitution, police are bringing peace, investigating crime, preventing crimes and they are also doing it on behalf of every ministry that is in Zimbabwe. So, if there is an Act that is being provided by the ministry who is heading the environment saying no one should urinate behind a tree, police will enforce that one.
That is their duty and we do not enforce anything which is not lawful and where we do not have an Act to act upon it. We will act only when there is an Act that has been passed and is given to us to make the people act lawfully.
Therefore, if urinating behind the tree is now illegal, then the police will be informed by the Minister of Environment
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