A drunken police officer in Zambia has released 13 suspects to celebrate the New Year, the BBC reports, adding that Inspector Titus Phiri was arrested after releasing the suspects from the Leonard Cheelo police station in the capital, Lusaka, and then fleeing on his own.
The 13 detainees were charged with assault, robbery, and theft. They are currently at large and a search operation has been launched.
Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that Phiri, “in a state of intoxication, forcibly seized cell keys” from constable Serah Banda on New Year’s Eve.
“Subsequently, Detective Inspector Phiri unlocked both the male and female cells and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the new year,” he said.
“Out of the 15 suspects in custody, 13 escaped. Following the incident, the officer fled the scene.”
Although Mr Phiri is yet to comment on the allegations, but a former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Dickson Jere wrote on Facebook: “I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario – comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997.”
It would be recalled that on New Year’s Eve in 1997, the late, controversial High Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ordered the release of 53 suspects, some of whom were deemed dangerous by the police.
Mr Chanda was reportedly annoyed that the suspects had been arrested as long ago as 1992, but had not yet appeared in court.
“Justice delayed, is justice denied,” he had said.