On Friday, female police officers from all 41 policing stations across the country marched off the ground on a high note after an intensive three-day operation Basadi.
During the three day operation which commenced on Wednesday, women in uniform led by their chairperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jessie Nyirongo who is also MPS Anti-Motor Vehicle ln-charge, arrested perpetrators of sexual and various offences, conducted sensitisation meetings, sweeping exercises and roadblock checks.
For instance, on the night of Wednesday, officers from Mzuzu arrested 8 suspects who were staying in one house in Chibavi area. The officers also recovered assorted police uniforms including five packer jackets, two reflectors, bullet proofs and PMS uniform.
In Chitipa, the female officers apprehended Flywell Mwaphasha, 22, at Chitipa Secondary School for stealing a bicycle which was also recovered.
In Zomba, on the night of May 18, 2022 the female cops arrested five suspects who committed various felonies including Gawa Rashid, 26, who was found with two cellphone sim cards intending to deliver into prison cells.
In Mangochi, Alli Bwanali, 39, was arrested after being found with assorted medical drugs without licence. He was intercepted aboard a Paseli minibus at Mpinganjira along Arthur Peter Mutharika Highway where the female officers mounted an adhoc roadblock.
On the same day, women in uniform from Dowa and Kanengo arrested suspects of defilement while in Kasungu they arrested Paul Phiri, 45, on suspicion that he stole a motorcycle which was also recovered on the same day.
The Blantyre team nabbed 42 suspects on various offences including burglary, theft, possessing Indian hemp and selling liquor without licence while Limbe female cops arrested 17 suspects in the sweeping exercises during the operation.
Kawale female law enforcers arrested 2 suspects who fraudulently swindled K10 million from various people through social media. The suspects placed an advert that they were to offer training to the youth who would later be employed as data collectors in their fake company.
In Thyolo, Ntcheu, Dedza, Mwanza, Mchinji, Balaka, Mponela, Monkey-Bay, Nkhata-Bay and Lumbadzi, officers dated various communities to preach GBV related issues.
Rumphi and Salima female cops confiscated weighing scales from various traders which were being used without certification of the Malawi Bureau of Standards while Liwonde female law enforcers invaded brothels and arrested 8 sex-workers for neglecting their children.
“Basadi” which literally means ‘women’ in Sotho and Tswana languages is an operation by female police officers across countries in the SADC region and it focuses on combating priority crimes particularly against women and children, such as defilement, rape, assault, human trafficking, domestic violence and child labour among others.
The main purpose of the operation is to display the active role female police officers play in law enforcement.
The SADC region operation was established in 2013 under the theme: “We are on it, gender based violence must stop.”
Basadi operation normally takes place twice annually and every female police officer in the SADC region is expected to participate.
