Tanganyika : MONUSCO encourages Districts Leaders to Collaborate with Police in the Fight against Insecurity
To build and strengthen trust between local actors and the Congolese National Police in the protection of civilians, MONUSCO facilitated, on June 15, a meeting between the social partners and the Congolese National Police ( PNC) senior officers in Kalemie, Tanganyika province.
Besides the Congolese National Police officers, 16 Chiefs of districts including one (1) woman, representing the three communes of the city of Kalemie took part in the meetig.
The meeting was also intended to encourage grassroots leadership to maintain a better collaboration with the police in the fight against all forms of insecurity, and to promote the idea for the establishment of local Council for proximity security services bringing together police chiefs and chiefs of districts. The meeting reviewed the security measures to be taken and the modalities for the participation of the local populations in a more effective fight against insecurity in the city of Kalemie.
Kataki 2 district chief Jules Mwana Katamba confirmed the merits of such an action by declaring he stands ready to collaborate on the project. “We will contribute, we will work together with MONUSCO, MONUSCO-Police and our national police force and us, the chiefs of districts. We will always work together in close collaboration in the fight against insecurity."
This initiative is in line with MONUSCO Police interventions, which, in August 2019, assessed security strategies with the PNC and the chiefs of Kalemie districts as part of the Operational Strategy for the Fight against Insecurity in Kalemie (SOLIKA) whose center has been operational since April 2017.
To combat urban insecurity, besides organizing joint patrols with the PNC and providing toll-free numbers, MONUSCO police has provided assistance in installing 50 street lamps to light up police stations in remote corners of the City. It has also set up containers to serve as a police stations, aware that PNC’s professionalization also involves improving police personnel’s working conditions.
MONUSCO Police seized the opportunity to raise awareness of the good techniques regarding the barrier gestures and other distancing preventive measures to observe with a view to stopping the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the city of Kalemie.