Foreigners looking to get married to Zambian police officers may have to look elsewhere as the Zambian police authority has issued a memorandum to all
Foreigners looking to get married to Zambian police officers may have to look elsewhere as the Zambian police authority has issued a memorandum to all officers to refrain from marrying foreigners, while also asking those presently married to foreigners to declare their statuses within a week. The memo which was signed by the Inspector General of the Zambian police, Kakoma Kanganja, recently leaked and circulated on social media in the southern African country. In the memo, Kanganja warned officers who failed to comply with the directive that their actions could attract disciplinary action.
Following critical reactions to the memo, Zambian police spokeswoman, Esther Katongo explained that the decision was necessitated by the need to ensure that state security was not compromised.
“Issues of security are delicate. If not careful, spouses can be spies and can sell the security of the country.”
She added that while a standing order was recently issued, the ban against police officers marrying foreigners was not new.
“There are a few officers who have started marrying foreigners,” she said. “They are ignoring the previous requirement and this is why another standing order has been passed to remind officers what they are supposed to do and not supposed to do.”
Katongo added that it was likely officers who had married foreigners would be given new rules to follow.
“You know what marriage is – you share secrets. And you can tell officers ‘do not disclose’ but you have no control. You won’t be in their homes to always check on them.”
While the Zambian police has hinged its decision on national security, observers say the ban on cross-border marriages was only reflective of informal hatred for other African nationals – a phenomenon prevalent amongst many low-income Zambians.
There have been various waves of xenophobic outbursts in Zambia just as there have been in the more prosperous South Africa. In April 2016, over 60 shops mostly owned by Rwandans were lkooted in a xenophobic outburst in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, following rumours that Rwandans resident in the country were involved in ritual killings. The attacks continued for 2 days and were only quelled after more than 250 persons were arrested. Thousands of Rwandans moved to Zambia in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide with many of them still unwilling to return home many years after normalcy was restored. They have sometimes faced attacks even as they seek to become Zambian citizens.
The new police directive to prevent officers from marrying foreigners is therefore perceived by some persons as one of the measures being put in place to frustrate such plans.
