Three Police Officers Fired After Kissing Photo Goes Viral

Three traffic police officers have been fired in Tanzania after their kissing photo went viral, The Post (Zambia) reports. Sources said that the officers were fired on grounds of "gross misconduct in the course of duty".

Henry Mwaibambe, Kagera's regional police commander, said that a thorough investigation was conducted, post which the officers were fired.

Defending his department's decision, Mwaibambe told BBC: "We followed all disciplinary procedures to make sure that they were given a chance to defend themselves. The officer looking at the case was convinced there was compelling evidence against them, and that they had breached police code of conduct. That's why they lost their jobs."

Asumba Mwasumbi and Veronica Mdeme were fired for engaging in the kiss shown in the picture, while another police officer Fadhiri Linga was fired for clicking the picture with his phone's camera.

The picture was posted online by Linga and it went viral in no time, which in turn led to their dismissal, NaijaGists.com reports. The image shows a male and a female police officer, in full uniform, kissing in public.

The incident led to a social media frenzy in the country and was criticized extensively.

According to BBC, residents of Kagera in northwest Tanzania have taken to the social media to express their anger and disappointment at the system.

It comes as a shock that even now, falling in love with colleagues is a taboo in this East African nation. The young police officials had no idea that something as harmless as a kiss could end their careers.

However, some in favour of the decision stated that in this case the problem wasn't with the kiss, but the fact that it happened in public and while both were still in their uniforms, and that the picture was posted online.