LMPS needs a culture reboot

Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro this week reprimanded Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli after a group of police recruits were caught on camera assaulting civilians in the streets. The footage, which shocked the nation, graphically captures what is wrong with our policing methods in Lesotho. Yet despite the outrage the videos generated on social media, Commissioner Molibeli has not made any public comments condemning without any equivocation the senseless violence that was on display last week. If he apologised to his boss the Prime Minister, which we hope he did, that has remained hidden from the public that was directly traumatised by the senseless actions of his overzealous recruits. It would not be an act of humiliation for the police boss to say I’m sorry. Neither would that be an act of weakness nor cowardice. Instead that would go a long a way to demonstrate that he cares about the fundamental rights of Basotho and their personal dignity. Commissioner Molibeli should probably be aware that the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) has a serious image problem. An ordinary Mosotho on the street thinks the police are a violent lot. The police have done little to persuade Basotho that they are a force for good. It is incidents that we saw on social media last week that reinforce such thoughts in the minds of the people. The general perception we seem to get from people is that the whole policing system is rotten, right from the top. How else would the police bosses sanction the senseless violence that was on display last week? They cannot even plead that they were not aware of what was happening. Such a pleading would be a further indictment that they are not in control of what is happening below. The recruits went about their business with a certain bravado. They appeared to have no fear of any repercussions as if they knew that their backs were covered. That is what makes the whole incident tragic. We are deeply concerned that the training programme for the police recruits seems geared towards propping up a culture of violence. The naked aggression that was on display was totally uncalled for. We know that there are a couple of smart brains in the LMPS. But could the strict, top-down structure within the police be holding them back from being an influence for good? If that is so, then they must have a quiet word with their bosses and inform them that something must change. The toxic culture that fosters violence need to be uprooted, pronto. Gone are the days when the police relied on brute force alone to extract confessions from suspects. We need a smarter police recruit, preferably a university graduate for that matter, who can quickly adapt to modern policing challenges. We know that the challenges of policing have become much more complex in the modern age. We also need to foster a culture of respect for basic human rights. Those who can’t buy into this culture must be shown the door. But beyond the culture change, we also need to see tangible action being taken against perpetrators of human rights. The Police Commissioner cannot continue to shield his officers from censure. They must face the music in their personal capacity. The government, through taxpayers’ money, must not pay for the damages. The offending officers must be made to pay from their pockets. That way, it will hit them where it hurts most, in addition to possible criminal charges.