Fourty police officers in Mulanje have been trained in human trafficking cases, a move authorities say will help in identifying, intercepting and processing human trafficking cases.Opening the two day training on Wednesday, Mulanje Police Officer In-Charge, Edwin Magalasi said being a boarder district, Mulanje is prone to such cases observing that it was therefore good for the officers to have relevant knowledge.
Magalasi said human trafficking is a human rights violation and as law enforcers they have the obligation to deal with any cases. “I sincerely thank Love Justice Malawi for organising this important training which will help in imparting knowledge to the officers. I therefore urge all participants to be serious in following the presentations so that we make Mulanje safe and secure,” Magalasi said.
On his part, training coordinator for Love Justice, Frank Banda said his organisation was committed to ensuring that every police officer is equipped with the desired knowledge. Banda added that since the enactment of the Trafficking in Persons Act, there have been some gaps in terms of handling such cases, hence the move to organise such training sessions that continue up to the end of this month.”We observed that many cases were flopping when taken to court so we thought we should do something. It is our expectation that after these trainings there will be good collaboration between police and various stakeholders including NGOs,” Banda observed.Banda said for some time now, human trafficking issues have been sidelined noting that this should change. He concurred with Magalasi that human trafficking is a rights violation and there is need for stakeholders to work together.
One of the participants, Peter Lompwa described the training as an eye-opener, saying there have been situations that he overlooked cases due to lack of relevant knowledge. “We normally work in roadblocks where we meet many people. I believe with this training, I will be able to detect these cases,” he noted.
