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Pushing war on armed robberies across the borders
2006-01-31 08:55:28
By Jim K. Shekimweri
It’s good to hear from the Inspector General Omar Mahita himself about lax security around urban centres.
The argument is simple, his men have not been smart enough to conquer the current spate of armed robbery.
We however, need to examine the issue of robberies very carefully, before accusing anyone or drawing wrong conclusions .
Was there any reason for the robberies to take place when they did ?
Police were taken unaware and so was the government.
Innocent citizens too were taken aback, fearing for their lives and properties. No one was prepared for the rising crime wave which escalated after the fourth phase government came into power. What happened?
It stunned observers and speculation became rife that the robbers wanted to finish their job quickly as time was running out for them, ’says a Dar es Salaam resident, Innocent Mallya.
Many people would support Mallya’s opinion but everyone wanted to know why would robbers want to finish their job quickly. Speculations and theories.
’’The fact is that, during the third phase government, the security of citizens was not top on the agenda, whether this is put bluntly or indirectly,’ says an observer.
People suffered because police became accomplices of armed gangsters. Where the police were not part of the ’game,’ they took cover and left the gangsters to execute their missions uninterrupted. This was another opinion.
One of such incidents of ’police surrender’ happened in the middle of last year when gangsters took control of Mwenge police post and robbed shops and injured several people.
I saw police removing their caps and running towards Coca Cola. Another one removed his shoes and took refuge at Nakiete Pharmacy,’ says a taxi driver.
Another recent shocker happened at Mnazi Mmoja when a shop selling jewels was raided and a guard was injured. He later died at Muhimbili National Hospital. An eye witness described a horrific scene of shootout, but said a policeman fled for his life.
While debate on police’s performance continues, some people wonder how a gang can cordon off a street at Sinza, rob the shops and disappear without the knowledge of the police.
Stunning the residents even further is the mystery surrounding the use of arms, modern arms that are used by military personnel.
There are many suggestions but the common one centres on the proliferation of refugees from war-torn neighbouring DRC and to some extent Burundi.
Other people suspect that illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries are also a contributing factor.
The handling of arms and especially the tactics used by gangsters pose yet more questions. Could it be that the operations of these crooks are coordinated from one centre? Is there perhaps a training ground (s) for the thugs? Where do these gangsters live are they not known to local area residents?
Some of the tricks used by gangsters match with what usually happens in big cities of East Africa, hence a need to team up with police in the Great Lakes Region, as to whether gangsters wanted in one country do not cross over and hide in the other.
Can we say therefore that the police are to blame for failing to curb armed robbery? Whatever the answer one has, the problem seems to overstretch across the borders.
It is not just a matter of Tanzania police fighting crime. It may be a bigger war than earlier estimated.
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