Thousands of people could be getting into the country’s main city centres using fraudulent exemption letters in violation of lockdown regulations.
An investigation by The Herald confirmed the existence of cartels who use letterheads of reputable institutions to produce counterfeit letters for fees of between US$5 and US$10 for a document.
Ordinarily, an exemption letter from an employer coupled with a company ID card in support is considered good evidence of a genuine letter. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi had this to say:
Letters produced by people at checkpoints are scrutinised for authenticity and checked against the particulars of the individual concerned.
Some members of the public have been turned back where law enforcement agents are not satisfied with the authenticity of the exemption letters produced.
The position of the police on fake letters is that offenders risk being arrested for violating the law.
Brian Kashangura, a private investigator, said police needed capacitation to be able to ascertain the genuineness of exemption letters. He said:
I suggest that the police should be capacitated. There is a need to ensure that at every checkpoint, there is at least a cell phone with airtime that can be used by officers to make calls to verify with relevant employers when they are in doubt.
The coronavirus-induced lockdown has been in place since March and most people have become fatigued with the restriction on movements.
Some would prefer to buy groceries in the city centre and this has led people to buy “exemption” letters.