Dar es Salaam. Ocean Road is one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in this city and the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the soothing sea breeze—by day, that is.
After dark, the area turns into a no-go zone where vicious thugs operate with surprising freedom and impunity, brazenly targeting people walking on the beach or along the road.
Lone motorists whose vehicles break down are also fair game for the gangsters, who attack their victims with clubs, iron bars and knives and rob them of money, mobile phones and other valuables.
Especially dangerous is the short stretch between the junction of Ufukoni and Ocean roads and the turnoff to the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club. It is a muggers’ paradise, and yet this is supposed to be a safe zone in the city, if not the safest.
It is within a one-kilometre radius of State House and a stone’s throw from the headquarters of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Selander Bridge Police Station. Yet nowhere else in the city centre is one more likely to be attacked, robbed and even killed under cover of darkness.
Ilala Regional Police Commander Marieta Minangi says she has yet to receive reports of people being attacked and robbed in that neighbourhood. There could be some isolated incidents, she adds, but there is no truth in claims that the area is taken over by criminals after dark.
“We regularly patrol the place, and it’s just not possible for muggers and other criminals to operate freely,” she says. And here is the evidence: The police have evicted a number of “bhang smokers” who were living in an open space overlooking the beach.
Ms Minangi dismisses reports that police know the muggers but look the other way as they regularly take bribes from them, only saying that there is no proof of this. She adds: “This is news to me. Anybody who has proof should come to me, and I will take appropriate measures. Until that happens, I will continue to regard the reports as mere rumour.”
The regional police chief says Ilala residents should work closely with the police to enhance security instead of “complaining on the streets”.
But people living and working in the vicinity of the beach and those who frequently use Ocean Road at night say police hardly patrol the area. “The only time we see police here is after someone has been brutally attacked and robbed. They come here and go through the motions of looking for the attackers before speeding away, usually without any suspects,” said a security guard in the neighbourhood.
There was a time when muggings were an almost daily affair until people here decided to do the wise thing and avoid the area after dark.
The guard, who asked not to be named, adds: “But there are those who are not aware that this is a place to be avoided. These are the ones who fall victim to the thugs.”
Investigations by The Citizen on Saturday have established that a number of tourists have been attacked and robbed in recent months. Most of the foreigners were attacked while either jogging on the seafront in the early morning or taking a leisurely evening stroll.
The thugs usually lie in wait for potential victims on the beach. They dash back to the beach and sometimes swim out to sea under the cover of darkness after robbing their victims, making it almost impossible to pursue them.
A resident of Sea View along Ocean Road, who gave his name only as Mark, said police dare not venture onto the beach at night in pursuit of muggers. “They scan the beach from the safety of the road before driving away, and that’s usually the end of the story,” he said. “Someone is sleeping on the job. How on earth can a place that is so close to State House be one of the most dangerous areas in Dar es Salaam? This is one big mystery.”
A motorist told The Citizen on Saturday of his ordeal at the hands of the gangsters. He was driving on Ocean Road towards the turnoff to the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club at around 10pm when his vehicle veered off the road and hit a tree.
He recalls: “The car was almost immediately surrounded by suspicious-looking characters who swiftly opened the doors and dragged me out. The thugs, who were armed with knives, descended on me with kicks and blows and robbed me of a substantial sum of money, two mobile phones and even my clothes and shoes."
"They fled towards the beach when security guards on duty at buildings overlooking the sea blew their whistles after hearing the commotion…they would have killed me had I resisted.”
He added that officers stationed at Selander Bridge Police Station should begin to carry out daily night patrols in the area instead of “harassing” motorists at junctions near the station.
“The only policemen and women I often see around here are traffic police officers who position themselves strategically at the junctions where Ocean Road and United Nations Road meet Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road. They spend hours flagging motorists down.”
source:www.thecitizen.co.tz
No comments:
Post a Comment