Commissioner for Central East Police Region, Rhoda Manjolo, says the support the communities render to the police in the region signifies high level of trust the people have in the law enforcers.
Manjolo was speaking in Kasungu during the weekend when she presided over a prize presentation ceremony for winners in various sporting disciplines competed in this year’s K7.5 million Central East Commissioner’s Trophy.
She said this year’s tournament attracted several sponsors, a development she described as an indicator of people’s trust in the police.
Said Manjolo: “The Commissioner’s Trophy is an idea that was hatched by the Inspector General. However, we were tasked to look for sponsorship ourselves at regional level. I am glad to report that many companies and individuals supported us. And that also shows that they have trust in their police.
“This competition was meant to act as a platform to disseminate our messages on security and safety issues while helping our officers to shed some stress by interacting with their colleagues. With the support we received, all these objectives have been achieved.”
Manjolo said management would continue arranging for sporting activities also as a way of instilling discipline and keeping the officers physically fit.
National Police Sports Coordinator, Audrow Makonyola, described the tournament as a great success, saying it has been another platform for identifying talent that exists in various police formations in the region.
“The teams that have won in this competition will participate in the IG’s Trophy which will start very soon. We are taking these games seriously because as police, we are able to identify talent through these games,” he said.
Teams from all Central East Police Region comprising Salima, Dowa, Mponera, Nkhotakota, Nkhunga, Ntchisi and Kasungu police stations and the region’s headquarters team participated in the tournament.
The tournament included disciplines such as football, netball, volleyball and tug of war.
Central East Headquarters won the football category and received K1 million and a trophy while Nkhotakota and Mponera police triumphed in netball and basketball respectively, and received K750, 000 and a trophy each.
Ntchisi Police was crowned the most disciplined team and went away with K500, 000.
The tournament attracted a number of sponsors including National Bank, First Capital Bank, Lindel Hotel, Salima Sugar, Napoleon Dzombe, Chipiku Stores and Police Sacco among others.
