Dar es Salaam Police Special Zone Commander Suleiman Kova
BY NELSON KESSY
Teenage criminal gangs code-named Roho Saba (Seven Souls), Wagumu Kufa (Die hards) and Watoto wa Mbwa (Puppies) have emerged in Dar es Salaam freely maiming, raping and mugging residents of Kibamba outskirt as the police vehemently deny any knowledge of the mayhem.
But residents of Kibamba say they have been recently living in fear of the gangsters reminiscent of the infamously notorious Mbwa Mwitu and Panya Road who tormented the city for a long time before their alleged annihilation by the police a few months ago.
On the tip of the tongue among the residents are clichés for the three criminal gangs whose ‘office’ hours start at sunset, when the public rush from work and when the police are busy closing down their working stations for home after a long day of keeping order and security.
Daniel David, a resident of Kibamba said that some people are so scared that they remain indoors after sunset following a sigh of relief on reaching home safe after work.
“It’s a threat to our life especially after 6pm when they operate; we don’t have anywhere to report as all police stations are closed at that time,” he said. “We have reported several instances to the police but nothing has changed,” he said, adding that the gangs were more active over the weekends.
The police would ‘insinuate’ arrests of the gangsters only to see them roaming the streets the following day, said David, implying the groups were cohorts to the police.
But Chairman of Kibamba local government Ally Kagombe did not have to wait for police intervention. He said he has recruited youngsters in his jurisdiction for self defence against the violent gangsters, robbers and rapists.
He echoed David’s concerns about the closure of police stations after 6pm, dismissing the move as pointless given the police role in keeping order and provision of security to the public regardless of the time.
“We are calling upon Ernest Magu (Inspector General of Police) to review the order so that police posts could once again open 24 hours to control and destroy these gangs,” he said.
A resident of the area who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of a back clash from the neighbourhood gangsters cited an incident of a gang rape on a woman who later turned up to him for counseling.
He said he received threat on his life following reports that he had broken the news to the media.
When asked why he did not report the incident to the police he said he had no confidence in them amid speculations that they provided a cover to the local criminal underworld.
He remained silent about another incident of rape by the same bad guys for fear of his life and short of trust in police, he said.
But with an obvious tongue on the cheek, officers at Kibamba police post told the Guardian on Sunday reporter that they knew nothing about the criminal situation in the area.
“Had we known about it, we, nevertheless wouldn’t have been the right persons to talk about it,” said one of the officers, implying they had no mandate to speak to the media.
Kinondoni Regional Police Commander ACP Camilius Wambura also said he had “not been officially informed” about the situation in Kibamba.
“I’m yet to receive any information about the matter, but we will work on it and establish the truth,” he said.
A survey by this paper early last year revealed that city criminals operating in groups had demarcated their own territories of operation in Dar es Salaam, typical of Kampala and Nairobi.
Dar es Salaam Police Special Zone Commander Suleiman Kova said as the city was rapidly changing its face, so did its crime tree, citing the most scaring criminal gang code-named ‘Mbwa Mwitu’ (wild dogs) at that time as having been under control. Only for a new group going by Panya Road cliché to emerge at the year end.
Other criminal contemporaries of Mbwas Mwitu included Nyange Nyange (Lesser flamingo) in Kariakoo; Vibaka wa Ukonga (Ukonga pickpockets), Vicheche (Night girls) and Madereva wa noah (Noah drivers) operating between the University of Dar es salaam and neighbouring Changanyikeni suburb.
But while Mbwa Mwitu was a criminal gang of young men similar to the formerly disbanded group, nicknamed “Chinja chinja” (slaughterers), the Kibamba criminal groups look more a replica of Mbwa Mwitu and its sister gang Panya Road than others by virtue of its conspirational and secretive nature.
But residents of Kibamba say they have been recently living in fear of the gangsters reminiscent of the infamously notorious Mbwa Mwitu and Panya Road who tormented the city for a long time before their alleged annihilation by the police a few months ago.
On the tip of the tongue among the residents are clichés for the three criminal gangs whose ‘office’ hours start at sunset, when the public rush from work and when the police are busy closing down their working stations for home after a long day of keeping order and security.
Daniel David, a resident of Kibamba said that some people are so scared that they remain indoors after sunset following a sigh of relief on reaching home safe after work.
“It’s a threat to our life especially after 6pm when they operate; we don’t have anywhere to report as all police stations are closed at that time,” he said. “We have reported several instances to the police but nothing has changed,” he said, adding that the gangs were more active over the weekends.
The police would ‘insinuate’ arrests of the gangsters only to see them roaming the streets the following day, said David, implying the groups were cohorts to the police.
But Chairman of Kibamba local government Ally Kagombe did not have to wait for police intervention. He said he has recruited youngsters in his jurisdiction for self defence against the violent gangsters, robbers and rapists.
He echoed David’s concerns about the closure of police stations after 6pm, dismissing the move as pointless given the police role in keeping order and provision of security to the public regardless of the time.
“We are calling upon Ernest Magu (Inspector General of Police) to review the order so that police posts could once again open 24 hours to control and destroy these gangs,” he said.
A resident of the area who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of a back clash from the neighbourhood gangsters cited an incident of a gang rape on a woman who later turned up to him for counseling.
He said he received threat on his life following reports that he had broken the news to the media.
When asked why he did not report the incident to the police he said he had no confidence in them amid speculations that they provided a cover to the local criminal underworld.
He remained silent about another incident of rape by the same bad guys for fear of his life and short of trust in police, he said.
But with an obvious tongue on the cheek, officers at Kibamba police post told the Guardian on Sunday reporter that they knew nothing about the criminal situation in the area.
“Had we known about it, we, nevertheless wouldn’t have been the right persons to talk about it,” said one of the officers, implying they had no mandate to speak to the media.
Kinondoni Regional Police Commander ACP Camilius Wambura also said he had “not been officially informed” about the situation in Kibamba.
“I’m yet to receive any information about the matter, but we will work on it and establish the truth,” he said.
A survey by this paper early last year revealed that city criminals operating in groups had demarcated their own territories of operation in Dar es Salaam, typical of Kampala and Nairobi.
Dar es Salaam Police Special Zone Commander Suleiman Kova said as the city was rapidly changing its face, so did its crime tree, citing the most scaring criminal gang code-named ‘Mbwa Mwitu’ (wild dogs) at that time as having been under control. Only for a new group going by Panya Road cliché to emerge at the year end.
Other criminal contemporaries of Mbwas Mwitu included Nyange Nyange (Lesser flamingo) in Kariakoo; Vibaka wa Ukonga (Ukonga pickpockets), Vicheche (Night girls) and Madereva wa noah (Noah drivers) operating between the University of Dar es salaam and neighbouring Changanyikeni suburb.
But while Mbwa Mwitu was a criminal gang of young men similar to the formerly disbanded group, nicknamed “Chinja chinja” (slaughterers), the Kibamba criminal groups look more a replica of Mbwa Mwitu and its sister gang Panya Road than others by virtue of its conspirational and secretive nature.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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