RETRIED Zambia Army Major Gershom Mubanga says it is wrong for Inspector General of police Lemmy Kajoba to display three stars on his official motor vehicle.
Major Mubanga has since written to the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security to instruct the inspector general of police to drop the three stars on his vehicle.
In a letter dated January 30, 2023, addressed to Mr Mwiimbu and copied to his defense counterpart Ambrose Lufuma, Maj Mubanga said stars are not for decorations.
“In the military, we attend lifetime learning courses from the rank of 2Lt [second lieutenant] to acquire these stars. The IG is a master and not a general.
All military symbols use the same stars to denote headquarters and deployment level of command in a theater or general military area of responsibility,” he stated.
He said, unlike other countries, police in Zambia do not use military ranks because they neither train as military nor get commissioned into the defense force.
“It is for this reason that the police service and correctional service constitutionally are not part of the defense force but the secretary wing,” he said.
Maj Mubanga explained that one star denotes a military commander of a brigade while two stars denote commander of a division or corps. Three stars represent a lieutenant general commanding an army.
“Inspector general is an appointment and not a rank, whilst army commander and Airforce commanders are commissioned officers who ascend to these titles,” Maj Mubanga wrote.
He argued that the IG is not entitled to three stars because his position is not equivalent to a defence force commander.
He said the current situation where the IG is displaying three stars is causing embarrassment to President Hakainde Hichilema who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
“If this trend is not arrested, we shall soon have provincial police commissioners and correctional officers also displaying stars,” he stated.
(Mwebantu, Thursday, 2nd Februray, 2023)