Omari Muwowo: A Zambian Police Officer Who Fights Piracy

By Paul Shalala

Omari Muwowo

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Omari Muwowo is an officer you can joke with, play with and work with.

He was recently promoted to DCP and am so proud of him because his work speaks for himself.

He is a user friendly officer who I have known since the year 2010.

When I worked for MUVI Television between 2010 and 2012, Mr. Muwowo and his colleagues at the Intellectual Property Unit of the Zambia Police Service did a great job in fighting piracy in the country.

My colleagues Brian Mwale, Mwape Kumwenda, Mabvuto Phiri and many others who worked at MUVI TV remember this man and how we worked with him on piracy stories.

In those days, they operated from a poorly made container at Force Headquarters in Lusaka but their work was countrywide.

I remember covering them on operations in Lusaka, Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi were they pounced on people pirating music and selling to unsuspecting travelers.

Mr. Muwowo was an integral part of the team.

To us journalists, he was and is still 'Constable' Omari Muwowo because he considers himself the lowest ranked Police officer, despite rising through the ranks over the past decade or so.

Even his Facebook page is called Constable Omari Muwowo.

Below is a short summary of how this great Police officer has risen through the ranks due to his patriotism, selflessness and dedication to work.

Mr. Muwowo is a graduate of the School of Public Order Maintenance in Kitwe which is popularly known as Kamfinsa, he was trained at the Mobile Unit.

Upon passing out, he was transferred to Lusaka Central Police Station where he worked briefly before he was transferred to Research and Planning Unit at Police headquarters.

It was at Force Headquarters where he exhibited his intelligence and Police dynamics.

As a Constable by rank, he did a project proposal in Sweden which led to the introduction of  the Intellectual Property Unit of the Zambia Police Service.

According to my research, what existed in the Police then was an ad-hoc Anti-Piracy Crack Squad.

Mr. Muwowo spearheaded Intellectual property initiatives and enforcement mechanisms which made him a renowned Intellectual property trainer in Africa and Europe.

He became the only one and the first African to be part of the training faculty in Stockholm, Sweden.

During his days under Intellectual Property Unit were I first met him at that container at Force Headquarters, sanity was brought in the Zambian markets.

Most of the fake products were confiscated to the point where he was nicknamed The Sweeper by traders at Lusaka Town Center were they usually sold pirated CDs and DVDs.

I remember those days, the Intellectual Property Unit of the Police used to work with an organization called Cycorps which was headed by a Mr Kingsley Nkonde.

Mr Nkonde was also another passionate person when it comes to fighting piracy.

I lost touch with him but if anyone can reach him, he can tell you how they fought piracy those days.

If am not mistaken, Brian Mwale and Mwape Kumwenda won Media Awards in Anti-Piracy those days, courtesy of the stories we did with the Zambia Police Intellectual Property Unit and Cycorps.

Back to Mr Muwowo, from Constable, he rose to the rank of Sub Inspector, Skipping the the rank of Sergeant.

Due to his hard work, he later became Inspector and Chief Inspector, the rank he only enjoyed for only one month and he was again promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent.

This scenario of frequent promotions just shows you how hard working and disciplined the man is.

In no time, he became a Superintendent, one of those ranks we call Ba Unga Unga.

Three years ago, he was promoted to the rank of Senior Superintendent and transferred to the Zambia Police Professional Standards and Integrity Committee.

Under his watch, there was a reduction in Police unethical conduct and corruption.

Almost every Zambian had his mobile number to report any officers who misbehaved, that is how ‘Constable’ Omari Muwowo works, he has an open door policy.

Other attributes I forgot to mention are that Mr. Muwowo is a disciplinarian, an honest and frank man who sensitises people through radio, Television and his Facebook page were he write articles to enlighten the public.

In short, wherever he goes, he revamps and makes an impact.

A few years ago, he was transferred to Western Province as Chief of Operations where he worked for 1 year 6 months.

Last year upon change of government, Mr. Muwowo was promoted as Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police and transferred to Police headquarters under the Operations Department.

Two months ago, another promotion came, he was given the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police, skipping one rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police.

He was appointed Director Operations, this means he is the man who attends to riots, emergencies, Policing of public events, manning gatherings and crowd management.

In short, Mr. Muwowo has excelled because he hates people who counterfeit products, people who are corrupt, Police officers who are unprofessional and unethical and he also hates laziness.

That is what I know about ‘Constable’ Muwowo, the DCP in the Zambia Police Service.

He is my friend and I celebrate his recent promotion.