It’s tough to be IG—Dzonzi

Recently retired inspector general (IG) of police Lot Dzonzi says the job of the top most cop is one of the most difficult one can do in the country.

In an interview after his farewell party at National Police Headquarters at Area 30 in Lilongwe on Monday, Dzonzi, who has been appointed Deputy Ambassador designate to the United Nations, said as an IG, one has to keep things in balance all the time even where the balance is razor sharp.

Dzonzi is one of the few former IGs to be accorded the respect of being sent off with a party in the multiparty political dispensation.

Said Dzonzi: “As a police chief, you are involved in making tough decisions because policing is not an easy job. When policing, you have to be objective, fair and humane unless when the situation demands otherwise because of the reforms that the police adopted. When you are an IG, you deal with certain things yourself and you cannot even share that information with your deputies or even your wife,  hence you need to have a strong character.”

He said he was leaving the Malawi Police Service (MPS) a happy man after serving 28 years.

Added Dzonzi: “My strong faith in God helped me even in the most difficult situations in life and I have never hidden the fact that Jesus is my saviour because it is very difficult for one to go wrong when you are constantly in the presence of God.”

He urged police officers to join the Police Savings and Credit Cooperative (Sacco) to attain financial independence and avoid loan sharks.

In his remarks, Dzonzi’s successor, Paul Kanyama, applauded Dzonzi for serving the police diligently and asked him to continue giving them guidance in some areas they will feel challenged. n