Lemmy Kajoba’s use of three stars on his official vehicle, according to RETRIEVED Zambian Army Major Gershom Mubanga, is inappropriate.
Since then, Major Mubanga has written the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security to ask him to direct the police inspector general to remove the three stars from his car.
Stars are not for decorations, according to Maj. Mubanga in a letter dated January 30, 2023, addressed to Mr. Mwiimbu and copied to his defense counterpart Ambrose Lufuma.
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 claimed that unlike other nations, Zambian police do not employ military ranks since they do not undergo military training or receive commissions into the armed forces.
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.
One star indicates a military leader of a brigade, whereas two stars indicate a commander of a division or corps, according to Maj. Mubanga. The symbol for a lieutenant general in charge of an army is three stars.
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.
Because the IG’s position does not correspond to that of a commander of a defense force, he claimed, he is not entitled to three stars.
He claimed that President Hakainde Hichilema, who serves as the military’s supreme commander, feels embarrassed by the current situation in which the IG is flashing three stars.
If this trend is not arrested, we shall soon have provincial police commissioners and correctional officers also displaying stars,” he stated.
