In his comments at a Pass Out Parade earlier this year, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri expressed confidence that the Zimbabwe Republic Police was doing everything it could to bring road fatalities to a minimum in Zimbabwe.

When I heard the accident statistics for this past Easter weekend, I was shocked: 33 deaths and 332 serious injuries. Is this really the best we can do? Soberingly, on the same weekend last Easter, a total of 69 people died and 410 others were injured in road accidents, according to The Zimbabwean. So maybe, sadly, it is.

Tangentially, the whole Chihuri address is well worth a read – It’s like he’s living in some parallel universe.

As a matter of record the following pleasing developments have been recorded.

- Carjacking and armed robbery of vehicles has virtually gone.
- The looting of goods, transiting our country from neighbouring countries, for example, copper from Zambia, is now a thing of the past.
- Fatalities in the roads have been reduced to the barest minimum.
- Chaos on the roads and the creation of unnecessary traffic jams has been minimized.
- Illegal operators have been flashed out.
- Though there are more cars on the roads and roads are narrower through lack of dualisation, the Zimbabwe Republic Police has managed to bring sanity to traffic movement.

An excerpt from: The State of Policing in Zimbabwe
An address made by the Commissioner General of Police Cde. A Chihuri at a Pass out Parade at Morris Depot, 23 February 2012

Mr Chihuri also said:

Let me state categorically that the reckless and misguided call to remove the traffic police from the roads is a non-starter. By nature of their job, Police operate from out there and not in offices. The Police must be vigilant and must continue to be out there to ensure total peace, security and safety of all, all the time. As Commissioner General of Police I will be grossly irresponsible to take the officers from the roads and accommodate them in offices just to lazy around. Their work is out there and they will remain out there. The Zimbabwe Republic Police will never tolerate any act of corruption, not only on the roads, but also in all areas of operation and within its rank and file.