I am very thankful for the story I am about to tell, I feel lucky to have experienced it and gained a valuable perspective despite what will sound terrifying. There was an incident at the home base where I live.
A man who called himself George Wilson befriended one of the volunteers, John, last week. He spoke excellent English and expressed that he had relocated to Bagamoyo from Dar es Salaam and that his wife was a social worker that was hoping to work for UKUN, the organization that John and I volunteer for. He wanted to give John her resume and so came back to the house with John although he was not allowed inside. He wrote the resume on a piece of paper and left.
Later that evening John called for a “Bajaji driver” (aka a taxi) around 5:45pm. He left and a few minutes later, around 6:00pm there was a knock at the door. Nick answered and this man walked in who Nick believed was the Bajaji driver. In fact it was George Wilson looking for John. Nick explained John had left and still thinking it was the Bajaji driver, called John to make sure John had gotten a ride. He had.
This man then sat down and also called John. We later discovered he faked the phone call, as he did not actually speak to John. He said John wanted him to explain why he was there. He said he worked for an NGO (a ficticious one) and that he was selling soaps. At this point I walked in. Nick was explaining that they weren’t interested. I knew we weren’t supposed to have visitors in the house, and I asked Nick if he would meet me outside. I went back across the street, grabbed my purse, and was trying to explain to the guards when it happened.
As soon as I left the man got up to leave but instead pulled out a 12 inch machete. He threatened to kill Nick, Kara and Jill who were still in the house. He made Nick sit down first – he held the knife up to Kara and said “Do you love her? I will kill her.” He had Nick sit down in the back of the room, Jill sit on the couch, and Kara went to get money – he wanted 100,000 US dollars. Kara gave him what she had – 40 dollars. He laughed and held the knife up to her neck and said he wanted more. She moved to head back to the bedroom then turned and ran out the door.
I was across the street, walking back to the house with Elias, one of our guards, when Kara ran out screaming. I saw the man, previously so polite and composed, run out of the house with the 12 inch knife. Elias sprinted after him and our neighbors started to as well, yelling “thief thief!” I ran back into the house and got Eva out and we and Jill went back to the main Cross Cultural Solutions house.
All the guards were running after the guy and I went back to the front gate – they caught him and were dragging him back to the compound. Elias was dragging him surrounded by over 50 people. I was trying to deadbolt the front door when they brought him back inside. Our guards explained that the mob was ready to kill him – they would douse him in gasoline and light him on fire. Mob justice often prevails in Tanzania. I stood with Mama Thea, our program director for all of Tanzania, in front of the mob as she saved this man’s life – this man who threatened to kill my friends. The mob grew to over 100 people and more kept coming. Our neighbors and friends in the community were very concerned and on our side.
Once in the house the man would not stop moving. He claimed it wasn’t him – clearly it was, we found him with the bag with the cell phones he had taken from us in it. The guards beat the shit out of him. I found myself jumping in front of this man at one point because it was too much for me, even though I could see the logic he deserved it, my heart couldn’t bear the thought of him getting seriously injured.
The police came. They drove into our compound and put the man on the truck. Many of the volunteers were crying. We went to the police station to give statements – me, Nick, Kara, Jillian, and John. Of course the most affected were the 3 that were in the house when he pulled the knife. I feel very lucky that I left the room when I did, and that Elias and I were out in the street when the man ran out, giving Elias a chance to catch him.
We learned more about the man. He was certainly a convincing actor – he was in fact from Kenya, not a Tanzanian or Bagamoyo resident. He had tried to get in at one of the schools and they would not hire him, they thought he was a thief. He targeted John because John was white and he believed John would have money. He did research and was well spoken. He appeared at the house looking for John intending to threaten John and get the money. We are not sure if he would have hurt anyone or not, at this point we just remain thankful that no one was hurt.
Friday we went to court. The man was making up lies and lies which I guess is to be expected. We produced witness after witness to support what had happened. The justice system is quite different here – the incident was Thursday night and the trial was Friday morning. The man did escape from prison Thursday night by pretending to be dying so was taken to a hospital. He then escaped and was captured, and now faces criminal charges for that incident as well. He is clearly a foreigner and clearly a sociopath, a liar, a very bad person indeed.
I was absolutely amazed by the CCS staff, our neighbors, and the community. While I am very thankful we are safe, we also learned that we must be careful and that the rules here exist for a reason. John should not have shown him to the house. Nick should not have let him in. I should have reacted much faster when I noticed him in the room. The CCS staff was incredible. Elias ran after this man with the butcher knife and chased him until he caught him and threw him to the ground. He put himself in danger to catch this criminal. Our kitchen staff kept all the girls calm in the back of the house, who of course were understandably shaken up by the events. The guards kept the man tied up and did not turn him over to the angry mob outside the gate. Our neighbors ran out of their houses to held chase down this criminal. They hate thieves.
What I have learned is that you must be very careful, even a place like here where the Bagamoyo people are so friendly and kind and good, there are bad people who will attempt to take advantage of our ignorance. This story could have happened in any country – a hold up at a gas station or a bank is not uncommon. It does not diminish how much I love Bagamoyo or Tanzania or how safe I feel in our compound and houses.
We all learned valuable lessons. We are all thankful and happy.
The picture I’ve posted is from outside the police station. The police were somewhat cavalier about the event, saying things like we should have let the mob kill him. I am very glad we did not. I don’t believe in playing God and determining if someone should live or die. I believe we are here to promote development and we should support the court system and its efforts to be respected and legitimate. We take this for granted in the United States that we have a criminal system – one in which you are innocent until proven guilty. Mob justice would not give the accused such parameters, and this man would be dead if not for the brave actions of our CCS staff members.
I will be in Dar es Salaam for Walk the World and will have another update soon. I love my family and friends, please do not worry. All the best – Dana.
A man who called himself George Wilson befriended one of the volunteers, John, last week. He spoke excellent English and expressed that he had relocated to Bagamoyo from Dar es Salaam and that his wife was a social worker that was hoping to work for UKUN, the organization that John and I volunteer for. He wanted to give John her resume and so came back to the house with John although he was not allowed inside. He wrote the resume on a piece of paper and left.
Later that evening John called for a “Bajaji driver” (aka a taxi) around 5:45pm. He left and a few minutes later, around 6:00pm there was a knock at the door. Nick answered and this man walked in who Nick believed was the Bajaji driver. In fact it was George Wilson looking for John. Nick explained John had left and still thinking it was the Bajaji driver, called John to make sure John had gotten a ride. He had.
This man then sat down and also called John. We later discovered he faked the phone call, as he did not actually speak to John. He said John wanted him to explain why he was there. He said he worked for an NGO (a ficticious one) and that he was selling soaps. At this point I walked in. Nick was explaining that they weren’t interested. I knew we weren’t supposed to have visitors in the house, and I asked Nick if he would meet me outside. I went back across the street, grabbed my purse, and was trying to explain to the guards when it happened.
As soon as I left the man got up to leave but instead pulled out a 12 inch machete. He threatened to kill Nick, Kara and Jill who were still in the house. He made Nick sit down first – he held the knife up to Kara and said “Do you love her? I will kill her.” He had Nick sit down in the back of the room, Jill sit on the couch, and Kara went to get money – he wanted 100,000 US dollars. Kara gave him what she had – 40 dollars. He laughed and held the knife up to her neck and said he wanted more. She moved to head back to the bedroom then turned and ran out the door.
I was across the street, walking back to the house with Elias, one of our guards, when Kara ran out screaming. I saw the man, previously so polite and composed, run out of the house with the 12 inch knife. Elias sprinted after him and our neighbors started to as well, yelling “thief thief!” I ran back into the house and got Eva out and we and Jill went back to the main Cross Cultural Solutions house.
All the guards were running after the guy and I went back to the front gate – they caught him and were dragging him back to the compound. Elias was dragging him surrounded by over 50 people. I was trying to deadbolt the front door when they brought him back inside. Our guards explained that the mob was ready to kill him – they would douse him in gasoline and light him on fire. Mob justice often prevails in Tanzania. I stood with Mama Thea, our program director for all of Tanzania, in front of the mob as she saved this man’s life – this man who threatened to kill my friends. The mob grew to over 100 people and more kept coming. Our neighbors and friends in the community were very concerned and on our side.
Once in the house the man would not stop moving. He claimed it wasn’t him – clearly it was, we found him with the bag with the cell phones he had taken from us in it. The guards beat the shit out of him. I found myself jumping in front of this man at one point because it was too much for me, even though I could see the logic he deserved it, my heart couldn’t bear the thought of him getting seriously injured.
The police came. They drove into our compound and put the man on the truck. Many of the volunteers were crying. We went to the police station to give statements – me, Nick, Kara, Jillian, and John. Of course the most affected were the 3 that were in the house when he pulled the knife. I feel very lucky that I left the room when I did, and that Elias and I were out in the street when the man ran out, giving Elias a chance to catch him.
We learned more about the man. He was certainly a convincing actor – he was in fact from Kenya, not a Tanzanian or Bagamoyo resident. He had tried to get in at one of the schools and they would not hire him, they thought he was a thief. He targeted John because John was white and he believed John would have money. He did research and was well spoken. He appeared at the house looking for John intending to threaten John and get the money. We are not sure if he would have hurt anyone or not, at this point we just remain thankful that no one was hurt.
Friday we went to court. The man was making up lies and lies which I guess is to be expected. We produced witness after witness to support what had happened. The justice system is quite different here – the incident was Thursday night and the trial was Friday morning. The man did escape from prison Thursday night by pretending to be dying so was taken to a hospital. He then escaped and was captured, and now faces criminal charges for that incident as well. He is clearly a foreigner and clearly a sociopath, a liar, a very bad person indeed.
I was absolutely amazed by the CCS staff, our neighbors, and the community. While I am very thankful we are safe, we also learned that we must be careful and that the rules here exist for a reason. John should not have shown him to the house. Nick should not have let him in. I should have reacted much faster when I noticed him in the room. The CCS staff was incredible. Elias ran after this man with the butcher knife and chased him until he caught him and threw him to the ground. He put himself in danger to catch this criminal. Our kitchen staff kept all the girls calm in the back of the house, who of course were understandably shaken up by the events. The guards kept the man tied up and did not turn him over to the angry mob outside the gate. Our neighbors ran out of their houses to held chase down this criminal. They hate thieves.
What I have learned is that you must be very careful, even a place like here where the Bagamoyo people are so friendly and kind and good, there are bad people who will attempt to take advantage of our ignorance. This story could have happened in any country – a hold up at a gas station or a bank is not uncommon. It does not diminish how much I love Bagamoyo or Tanzania or how safe I feel in our compound and houses.
We all learned valuable lessons. We are all thankful and happy.
The picture I’ve posted is from outside the police station. The police were somewhat cavalier about the event, saying things like we should have let the mob kill him. I am very glad we did not. I don’t believe in playing God and determining if someone should live or die. I believe we are here to promote development and we should support the court system and its efforts to be respected and legitimate. We take this for granted in the United States that we have a criminal system – one in which you are innocent until proven guilty. Mob justice would not give the accused such parameters, and this man would be dead if not for the brave actions of our CCS staff members.
I will be in Dar es Salaam for Walk the World and will have another update soon. I love my family and friends, please do not worry. All the best – Dana.
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