Adam Lusekelo
19 April 2004
column
Nairobi — The people of Bongo are waiting breathlessly to be told by the Minister of Home Affairs, come the next budget session that the crime rate is falling. These annual reassurances go a long way to compensate us for the disturbing evidence of our senses - which, of course, as any scientifically grounded person knows, are not to be trusted.
Actually, the people of Bongo don't know the half of it. The crime rate is not only falling, it's standing on its head! I have a story to tell that will open your eyes:
They robbed my friend's bar on Good Friday night. Happily, no lives were lost, but it left my friend shaken. I suppose it comes with the territory, owning a bar.
My first impulse was to pray for peace and that it would not happen again in the future. Which is nonsense, of course. As long as you have the kind of wild unemployment we have, you will have guys who plot against you.
Here is what happened. An unarmed gang of 10 on Thursday invaded the bar, operating under the name of Bamboo Safari Club in Kinondoni Shamba in Dar es Salaam, offering the cashier and patrons valuables and cash before melting away in an ambulance.
According to eyewitnesses, as the thugs unloaded the loot from a pick-up, they fired in the air to scare away people who were throwing stones at them.
The Bamboo Bar proprietor, John Fedha, confirmed the incident, saying that generous gesture by the robbers had dealt his business a serious blow by raising expectations. "The generous bandits offered my customers 27 cell phones, 19 wristwatches and cash amounting to 2.7 million Tanzanian bagas ($2,700). This is on top of about Tsh310,000 ($310) they gave my cashier.
"I thank God that nobody was hurt in the incident. Only my reputation as a miser suffered injury, but I am still stunned by the operation and the amount they offered.
"A group of about 15 tourists were here eating nyama choma and drinking beer. The bandits offered them free nyama and beer. The tourists were delighted.
"They, too, offered their wallets, watches and valuables to the bandits." The tourists left and vowed that they would come back to Bongo. "Such hospitality!" said one tearfully on his way to the airport.
My friend John Fedha then changed his mind about the effect on his business.
"It's good for business, he reasoned. Getting generous robbers like this attracts customers. It is a novelty. I know my clients will now be coming in force - with guns, of course. This will make the place very secure.
Two of the gangsters confronted a female client and reasoned with her to accept a handbag containing 400,000 Tanzania shillings, two cell phones and documents. She happily did that after getting slapped repeatedly.
An eyewitness, Job Rutihinda, said he sought refuge in a nearby charcoal store, forgetting that he was in a cream suit. After the bandits had departed, he came out with his suit looking even creamier.
A famous football administrator was also there to witness the bandit show.
But he was in the VIP section and was too bombed to know that the place was being raided. But after he heard about it, he said it was very exciting.
"Just as exciting as a soccer match," he said. His team, incidentally, is famous for scoring own goals...
Adam Lusekelo is a correspondent for Sunday News of Dar es Salaam.
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