Lilongwe, Malawi – The Chairperson of the SADC Chiefs of Police Sub-Committee and Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO), Inspector General Richard Chakupaleza Chikoko Luhanga of the Malawi Police Service, has urged heads of SARPCCO organs to ensure that police across the region remain steadfast in protecting the safety and security of citizens.
Inspector General Luhanga made the call on 9 June 2026 at the opening of the meeting of the Heads of Organs of SARPCCO in Lilongwe, Malawi, which brought together the Permanent Coordinating Sub-committee, the Legal Sub-committee, the Training Sub-committee and the Women Police Network Sub-committee.
He said the complex and evolving nature of transnational organised crime demands that police stay a step ahead of criminal activity, and warned that no single country can confront such crime alone. 
“SADC citizens look to the police for safety and security as criminals exploit every gap and every moment, adapting their methods as fast as the police adapt their own methods,” Luhanga said, urging member states to collaborate more closely.
Gerald Chiwanda, Chairperson of the Permanent Coordinating Sub-committee and Director of the Criminal Intelligence Department in the Malawi Police Service, and Thanyani Gumede, Senior Officer for Police and SARPCCO at the SADC Secretariat, also called for deeper collaboration to achieve a peaceful and secure region.
During the meeting, Sello Moerane, Head of the INTERPOL Regional Bureau in Harare, presented highlights of achievements made under the Cooperation Agreement between SADC and INTERPOL, aimed at preventing and suppressing crime across the SADC region and globally.
The SADC Chiefs of Police are scheduled to meet on 11 and 12 June 2026 at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
