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Monitor Uniformed Forces Closely

The Herald (Harare)
OPINION
July 28, 2004
Posted to the web July 28, 2004
Harare
MURDERS and suicides by members of the uniformed forces publicised recently
underline the need to engage psychologists to monitor the emotional well-being
of army and police details.
While society would - rightly - roundly condemn such deeds, it should be borne
in mind that police personnel and soldiers are human beings with feelings like
anybody else.
However, those who maintain law and order should be monitored closely to ensure
that they do not violate that very same law and order that they are supposed to
preserve.
Armed forces should pay particular attention to the emotional status of a
person during recruitment and not concentrate only on their physical strength.
This monitoring should continue regularly during their working life as these
individuals are sometimes exposed to some of the most stressful conditions and
circumstances, particularly when they have to be away from home for months on
military missions.
As much as they rightly value physical strength in their ranks, uniformed
forces should closely monitor the emotional health of their members to avoid
incidents that would result in the death of innocent people.
The incident in Masvingo where a junior policeman ran amok on Saturday and shot
dead his girlfriend Lina Mudzi, the girlfriend's sister Catherine Mudzitirwa
and her husband Brazo Rupani before he turned the gun on himself, is most
tragic.
Caught in the crossfire was Mudzitirwa's two-month-old baby who fell off her
back during the uproar.
The baby is battling for life at a Harare hospital.
Hardly a week ago, another policeman, Amos Zihapa, shot dead his estranged
wife, Virginia Mugabe, following a dispute over maintenance of their two
children.
Zihapa shot Mugabe in the back of her head after she had gone to Chikurubi
Police Support Unit Camp, where he was stationed, to serve him with a
maintenance variation order.
In both cases, the men had asked colleagues on duty with them to go away under
the pretext that they needed privacy to solve their domestic problems only to
gun down the hapless women at close range.
After the shootings, they turned the weapons on themselves and took their
lives.
How do you know whether a soldier or policeman is experiencing a domestic
problem that is causing stress in their life?
Do the uniformed forces take an interest in their members' living conditions,
particularly establishing areas of stress as a preventative measure?
Given the fact that members of the uniformed forces handle weapons which are
dangerous to humans, and because the security of the country is in their hands,
their stress levels must be kept at manageable levels to avoid indiscriminate
shooting of innocent people.
However, the above scenarios have demonstrated the need for better dialogue
among warring estranged parties.
This is because confrontations of this nature, it would seem, would continue
claiming lives of many people as arguments and fights are bound to erupt and
heighten if disputing parties are left to their own devices.
These shootings and murders cannot be allowed to continue and we urge
responsible authorities to take a proactive approach to this problem before it
tarnishes the brilliant image of the uniformed forces, which are the marvel of
the African continent.
It is a fact that those who entertain suicidal thoughts eventually carry out
the act.
Social crises such as financial problems, divorce, frustration, anger, self-
hatred and failure, can trigger suicide.

   

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