’Mantoetse Maama
MASERU — Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says the police should “put out fire with fire” when dealing with criminals.
Thabane told the Police Training College (PTC) graduates during a pass-out ceremony on Friday that they have enough tools to fight back, with equal force, when criminals resist arrest.
“I am against human rights that protect criminals more than they protect the police,” Thabane said.
“I am addressing you criminals as I know that you are listening to me right now: Your days are numbered,” he said.
“These recruits have been trained to fight you and they will defeat you because we have equipped them to strike back.”
“They will defeat you because we have given them tools bought with our taxes.
“You will come with your small arms and we will beat you up.”
Thabane said it is the responsibility of the coalition government to protect the people against criminals.
He said it is infuriating that a farmer toils to rear livestock only to see it stolen at gunpoint.
“Is this the kind of country we want to raise our children in?” he said.
He said police should work with other security forces to fight crime as is enshrined in the Police Act of 1998.
“Police should ensure safety and security of all people and their property.
“Commissioner and your colleagues need to work and tell us your plans about the safety of Basotho,” Thabane said.
Thabane said it was worrying that there was a small number of police officers who are also poorly equipped.
He said when he was a minister of police he once visited Qabane, in Mohale’s Hoek district where the people told him they had not seen a police officer in four years.
“The people just saw a police officer passing by at their village, not visiting them,” he said.
“I understand that it could be because of lack of resources.”
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Police, Mophato Monyake, said the number of recruits who joined the police force has decreased.
“We need to go out and encourage our children to join the police force and show them the importance of being a police officer.
“We also need to visit schools to persuade students to join the service after completion of their studies,” Monyake said.
“We need to increase the number of police so that we can have one police officer assisting at least 400 people.
“Currently there are 3 900 police officers and one police officer assists 700 people.”
He said the current number of police is not enough.
Monyake said the government will this year build police stations in different districts that include Leribe, Mafeteng and Mohale’s Hoek.
Police need planes and vehicles suitable to be driven in the mountains, Monyake said.
He said the police profession should be seen as a career not as a subordinate profession.
Speaking at the ceremony, the PTC director, Mahlape Morai, said there were 117 recruits but the number of graduates was 115 because two of the recruits dropped out.
One of them deserted and Morai said it is suspected that it was because of investigations on the authenticity of a school certificate that gained him entrance at the police college.
The other one was released after three months due to illness.