JUSTICE IN ZIMBABWE 45 ____________________________________________________________________ would resign if another political party came to power.68 In making this statement Mr Chihuri committed an offence in terms of the Police Act [Chapter 11:10]. In terms of para 48 of the Schedule to that Act it is an offence for police officers actively to participate in politics. On 9 January 2002 the service chiefs, including the Commissioner of Police, held a press conference. In essence, what they announced was that if the people elected President Mugabe’s chief political opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, in the forthcoming Presidential election they would not recognise him as President. This was tantamount to a treasonable utterance, but no charges were brought against them. The Commissioner has recently reiterated his support for what the service chiefs said: “... I stand by and absolutely support the statement made by the service chiefs prior to the 2002 presidential election.”69 The partisanship of the Commissioner of Police was further illustrated in August 2002. A state-controlled newspaper70 carried a report in which it stated that the Commissioner had lashed out at the country’s courts. The report said that the Commissioner had complained about the way in which the courts were handling cases in which MDC members had been accused of murder. He said that he was appalled by the way in which the courts had dealt with the bail applications by suspects in the murders of Cain Nkala and Limukani Luphahla.71 By handing these cases leniently, the courts had created the impression among MDC members that they could commit such crimes and get away with them. “The judicial system should view this seriously and rectify the problem,” he said. He said that the violence of the MDC was increasing by the day and this violence had now reached alarming levels. He said that this was a “worrying trend” and added: “We don’t know who they are going to kill next.” In this statement the Commissioner failed to make any reference to the fact that the police had failed to investigate and bring to court the perpetrators of the many crimes of violence, including crimes of murder, that had been committed against MDC members.72 A remark by the Commissioner in September 2002 may reveal more about his political views than he intended. Speaking of police officers who had questioned his competence, he is reported as having said: