By Majona Jabesi Mnjuzi
Mchinji, October 10, Mana: Mchinji Police has expressed dissatisfaction with the alarming increase in defilement cases in the district this year.
This has been revealed through in a recent report presented on Wednesday during the Station Executive Forum (SEF) meeting.
The report indicates a troubling spike in incidents with a 32.2 percent increase between January and September, 2024 compared to 22.2 percent within the same period year lastr year.
Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police who is also Officer in Charge for Mchinji Police Station, John Nkhoma, attributed the increase to the culture of silence where many cases remain unreported.
“We have a big problem of defilement, especially in villages. So, I advise chiefs and the community that these are police cases and are not supposed to be handled by traditional courts but reported to police,” he said.
Senior Chief Dambe, and other local leaders, echoed Nkhoma’s sentiments stressing the importance of mutual relationship and collaboration in addressing such crime in society.
“There is need for collective responsibility to safeguard the safety of our community. We need to foster an environment where safety and protection will be granted. So, we should be vigilant and play a watchdog role in our community for proper handling of various criminal cases in the district," said Senior Chief Dambe.
Mchinji District Council representative, Wilfred Gambatula, pledged to enhance collaboration with the police and all community stakeholders to ease the challenges.
While commending the police for their effort to reduce other crime rates in Mchinji, Gambatula urged the police to put an extra gear to address crimes.
Among other issues, the report revealed that from January to September 2024, Mchinji Police Station registered a decrease in reported criminal cases by 2.5 percent from 736 cases registered in 2023 to 717 cases registered in 2024.
Road accidents also decreased by 10.2 percent from 39 in 2023 to 35 in 2024 within the same period.
