Public applaud police officer for instructing bus passenger to retrieve trash she carelessly threw out of window

Despicable behaviour of most motorists

* The officer also refused offers from other passengers who had volunteered to retrieve the litter on her behalf

* It took the intervention of a senior officer to allow the bus driver pick up the trash on behalf of the woman passenger

* Most of the passengers backed the officer’s insistence, while rebuking this careless habit of littering

By Duncan Mlanjira

A police officer at Tsangano security checkpoint (roadblock) has earned some hearty congratulations on social media from the public for instructing a passenger to disembark from the commuter bus she was travelling in to retrieve banana peels she had carelessly thrown out of window in full view of the law enforcers.

This was after journalist, Gloria Masanza posted on Facebook that she was in that particular bus and were stopped at Tsangano police checkpoint and just as the officer was instructing the driver to proceed, a woman passenger at the back threw banana peels out of the window.

Masanza said the police officer was incensed with this despicable action — which is a common habit by Malawians of discarding litter anyhow — and thus asked her to get out of the bus to retrieve the trash.

The officer is also reported to have refused offers from other passengers who had volunteered to retrieve the litter on her behalf by insisting that the woman must disembark from the bus and pick it up herself.

Masanza reported that it took the intervention of a senior officer who was observing the drama to allow the bus driver pick up the trash on behalf of the woman passenger.

The concerned officer then admonished the passenger, saying when Malawians travel outside they don’t litter like she had done and when they come back they marvel how clean other countries are — yet here back home they just throw trash anyhow.

Malawian travellers have this repugnant habit of throwing out trash from car and bus windows — most of it being non-degradable — and becomes even more contemptible when some of the culprits are driving posh cars.

Plenty other members of the public has expressed this loathsome concern of motorists in posh cars — deemed to be of upright behaviour — with some even taking a picture of their car registration plates and posting on Facebook.

But it all come to naught as the public simply turn a blind eye to this — with some city dwellers retorting that street cleaners will come and clean after them.

Responses to Masanza’s post were of annoyance of the intervention of the senior officer, suggesting that the passenger should have been embarrassed even more by letting he retrieve the trash herself.

When Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa asked if the other passengers had a good talking to with her, Masanza replied that most of the passengers backed the officer’s insistence, while rebuking this careless habit of littering.

She reported that in their debate, the passengers took cognizance that  the area around the checkpoint was clean of any litter, an indication that they take care of their working environment.

She reported that the passengers civic educated their fellow passenger about keeping the sorrounding clean and that she seemed embarrassed of her behavior.

Karim Mailosi Gunthe hinted that if he had been the police officer, he “would have gone as far as charging her with an offence”, while applauding the man in uniform for being very professional.

Austin Kakande also lauded the police officer for being firm, saying this should teach the public that “it’s high time we became responsible for the beauty of our surroundings”.

Mathews Malata said: “I always say that if these government agencies were in sync, some of these challenges could have been history. Sadly we continue to operate in silos.”

In 2017, Chris-Tofa Kapanga posted on Facebook of an incident he witnessed as he drove behind a bus on the M1 Road. He wrote: “I suddenly noticed all manner of ‘missiles’ flying out of its windows dangerously into my path.

“The road was not that busy and the speeds were quite low so after ducking a few, I noticed it was take away food wraps — PEP bottles, cans, banana peels etc! It was obviously feeding time on the bus, but is this the way we should discharge our litter?

“I felt so so ashamed, as if I was the one committing this atrocity. Still shaking my head every time I think of it.”

To which Peter Mkali responded that it is sad “littering is all over — the bus operators have a big role in stopping this by providing litter bags”, while Robert Neba scoffed at Malawian travellers tendency of starting to eat “the moment the bus starts to move”.

With Levie Nkunika chipping in to say: “It’s a pity bwana Kapanga — and sometimes ‘missiles’ fly from ‘serious vehicles’ and you shake your head, and ask is there any hope?” to which Daniel Jere agreed, saying: “I have seen this sort of thing right in Blantyre CBD from drivers and passengers of vehicles you would least expect this from. I have heard of stiff fines in other jurisdictions.”

Donbell Mandala observed that this is not just a bad habit but also dangerous to other road users with Nellie Kalizang’oma attesting that even along Masauko Chipembere Highway, motorists throw out cans of yoghurts, empty bottles of water and other takeaway boxes.

A Nya Kapanga joined in to say on road trip to Lilongwe, “people from buses and cars alike, threw all manner of things out of their windows! At one point, an entire pizza box was thrown straight at us — from a Mercedes too!”

Susan Namangale was reminded of an incident she witnessed in Blantyre, saying she followed up a man in a suit driving a BMW after he threw a bottle out of his car.

“I felt I needed to talk to this man. I diverted my route to follow him and found him parking at a bank’s car park. I approached him and told him I was following him to educate him on waste management. He looked at me strangely and I told him I witnessed him throwing litter from his car and that was a bad habit not befitting a man of his calibre.

“He offered his apology but I told him he should apologise to himself  and that he should never do this again and that he should also educate others. You should see the smile he gives me every time we meet.”

Bright Chikaonda observed that this all starts at Zalewa police checkpoint where passengers buy food from vendors and “the litter zone stretches from the turn off all the way to Chingeni. Look around both sides of the M1 on this section and you’ll see littered all over — blue plastic bags and these white takeaway packs. It’s a sad situation. True, not only bus passengers, treat the road as an endless dumpyard.

Martin Siwu advised bus owners to provide litter bags — “otherwise what should a passenger do? Airlines have a way of handling food in transit, why not buses? Some of these passengers will be on the bus for 4-hrs-6hrs. Munthu amafuna kudya”.

Khumbo Shaba observed that it’s a big shame the country doesn’t have “a plastic and glass bottle recycling facility and yet the number of bottled water manufacturers/packagers has increased and every day a lot of plastic waste is going into landfill”.

Anthony John Mukumbwa described this habit as “moral bankruptcy”, saying: “It is also caused by laxity in enforcement of environmental management laws. One time I was trailing a vehicle of Lilongwe City Council and banana peelings were thrown out of the vehicle. How can the City enforce cleanliness in the city?”

Mukumbwa went on to post a picture of a bird that picked up an empty can and threw int into a garbage bin, saying: “Even a bird is more reasonable.”

This reporter recently travelled to Lilongwe through a Tam Tam coach and as soon as we left Wenela Bus Depot, a crew member indicated some safety measures and also implored on us passengers not to discard trash out of windows but to call for him to come over with a big plastic bag specifically brought alone for passengers’ litter.

Kapanga summed it all up by saying: “Perhaps those drafting (or redrafting) traffic fines/laws should include this one as an offense.”