Zimbabwe bans cell phone use by on-duty police

HARARE, Nov 05 (BBC): Zimbabwe's government has banned "with immediate effect" police officers from using mobile phones while working. The ban is contained in a memo, ordering police officers to abandon their private communication gadgets while on duty.

All officers are required to surrender their mobile phones to their supervisors once they get to their stations and only use them during their break time. No reasons were cited for the ban in the memo but it is widely believed this could be part of efforts to curb police corruption.

It comes a few days after two traffic enforcement officers were arrested in the capital, Harare, after a viral social media video exposed them taking bribes from public transport vehicles.