What happened to Jan's thread?
Aug 25th, 2006 | 12:58 PM
#22
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,880
Likes: 0
"I read the Arusha Times on occasion and a couple of months back a group of bandits stopped a van not far from the Kili airport, took all the passengers off the vehicle and robbed them. No one was hurt. At the time I couldn't understand why it wasn't mentioned on this board. The article may still be in their archives."
This is probably the article you saw ... robbers dressed as police set up a road block between the airport and Arusha, stopping nine vehicles last May ... doesn't sound like any tourist got snagged in this so maybe that's why it wasn't highlighted at sites like this one ... http://www.arushatimes.co.tz/2006/20/front_page_2.htm ...
This is probably the article you saw ... robbers dressed as police set up a road block between the airport and Arusha, stopping nine vehicles last May ... doesn't sound like any tourist got snagged in this so maybe that's why it wasn't highlighted at sites like this one ... http://www.arushatimes.co.tz/2006/20/front_page_2.htm ...
Aug 25th, 2006 | 03:09 PM
#23
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 593
Likes: 0
OK folks, here goes the third try. Let's hope the moderator doesn't delete it again.
Though I was not involved in an ARMED robbery, I was robbed last week on safari. I was very comfortable with the camp and employees. I had been there 10 times and I knew most of them and trusted them.
A week ago Monday evening I had dinner with the manager and we went our separate ways. I went into my tent, zipped the zip, threw my waist pouch (fanny pack) onto my bed between the pillows along with my video camera, got into my nightgown, unzipped the back zip to pee, and wasn't in there more than a minute and a half. When I went back into the tent the light was out. I thought perhaps the bulb had burned out. I flipped the switch and the light immediately came on. It was then I noticed that the FRONT zip was undone (and I knew I had zipped it). I looked around the tent and found my camera gear all there, but my fanny pack was missing. I immediately contacted the askari who came running. He checked out the tent - no one there. When we went on the veranda he asked me if I had put a Coke bottle on the edge of the floor of the veranda in the far corner. I hadn't - I had left it on the veranda table. As we started to the dining room to report this to the manager he spotted bare foot prints around my tent.
The manager immediately called all staff to the dining room and lectured them for 1/2 hour asking the culprit to step forward. He was not only hurting "Mama" but it reflected poorly on the whole staff and it wasn't fair to co-workers. Naturally no-one stepped forward. Most of the men then tried tracking the footprints in the sand in the dark, but due to the fact that so many elephants were around they had to break off the search. The theory was, that this person must have been watching me, grabbed the Coke bottle and turned off the light while I was in the bathroom. The Coke bottle would have been used on me as a weapon had I unexpectedly come out and caught him. Knowing I was alone, the manager posted an askari on my veranda all night.
The next morning while eating breakfast the manager came to tell me they had found the pouch and no-one had touched it yet. He wanted me there when it was retrieved. I followed him to the back of camp to the mechanics shop. On the makuti roof was my pouch. They think the culprit may have seen or heard someone coming the night before and tossed it on the roof, thinking he could come back to it later. When the men got it down EVERYTHING was still in it!! The majority of my money and passport had been locked up, but I had about 450.00 in my wallet along with license, health care cards, Flying Doctors card, pictures, etc.
At this point I suggested the manager just forget it but he said "no way, now I know I have a thief in camp even I won't be able to sleep". Thus he called a meeting of his safety committee to decide what should be done. Their recommendation was "bring in the nganga (witch doctor)". When I heard this I laughed and said "you have to be kidding". I was told that 80 - 90% of the people believe in the witch doctor.
The morning I left camp by charter flight the head of the company arrived and spoke with all employees and told them the witch doctor would be arriving that night and he would be able to tell who the thief was. We got on the plane and headed for Mombasa for my flight to Nairobi.
Upon arrival in Nairobi I checked my email and had a note from the camp manager that they now knew who the thief was. One of the employees, after hearing the witch doctor would be there that night, took off on foot through the bush. KWS and the police were notified.
Most lodges and camps have a safety deposit box or safe. Please be sure you put ALL your valuables including money, passport and insurance information in them. I use them but failed to put the belongings from my wallet in them. I carry it with me all the time with brush, comb, lipstick, etc. and didn't give it much thought. I will do it differently next time.
I still put my trust in 99% of the employees I know, but it only takes one bad apple to ruin everything. Will I go back again, you bet! Luckily this happenend to me. I've been there 10 times and know this is not the norm. Imagine if it had happened to someone who had never been there and didn't know who they could trust.
Like many of you, I am not wealthy. I work hard to be able to travel to Africa twice a year. However, to the average African, we are all wealthy. When one is desperately trying to figure out how to feed their family, one can understand the temptation.
In the end everything worked out fine, the head of the safari company, the camp manager and all the employees went above and beyond what I would have expected, but I learned an important lesson.
Jan
Though I was not involved in an ARMED robbery, I was robbed last week on safari. I was very comfortable with the camp and employees. I had been there 10 times and I knew most of them and trusted them.
A week ago Monday evening I had dinner with the manager and we went our separate ways. I went into my tent, zipped the zip, threw my waist pouch (fanny pack) onto my bed between the pillows along with my video camera, got into my nightgown, unzipped the back zip to pee, and wasn't in there more than a minute and a half. When I went back into the tent the light was out. I thought perhaps the bulb had burned out. I flipped the switch and the light immediately came on. It was then I noticed that the FRONT zip was undone (and I knew I had zipped it). I looked around the tent and found my camera gear all there, but my fanny pack was missing. I immediately contacted the askari who came running. He checked out the tent - no one there. When we went on the veranda he asked me if I had put a Coke bottle on the edge of the floor of the veranda in the far corner. I hadn't - I had left it on the veranda table. As we started to the dining room to report this to the manager he spotted bare foot prints around my tent.
The manager immediately called all staff to the dining room and lectured them for 1/2 hour asking the culprit to step forward. He was not only hurting "Mama" but it reflected poorly on the whole staff and it wasn't fair to co-workers. Naturally no-one stepped forward. Most of the men then tried tracking the footprints in the sand in the dark, but due to the fact that so many elephants were around they had to break off the search. The theory was, that this person must have been watching me, grabbed the Coke bottle and turned off the light while I was in the bathroom. The Coke bottle would have been used on me as a weapon had I unexpectedly come out and caught him. Knowing I was alone, the manager posted an askari on my veranda all night.
The next morning while eating breakfast the manager came to tell me they had found the pouch and no-one had touched it yet. He wanted me there when it was retrieved. I followed him to the back of camp to the mechanics shop. On the makuti roof was my pouch. They think the culprit may have seen or heard someone coming the night before and tossed it on the roof, thinking he could come back to it later. When the men got it down EVERYTHING was still in it!! The majority of my money and passport had been locked up, but I had about 450.00 in my wallet along with license, health care cards, Flying Doctors card, pictures, etc.
At this point I suggested the manager just forget it but he said "no way, now I know I have a thief in camp even I won't be able to sleep". Thus he called a meeting of his safety committee to decide what should be done. Their recommendation was "bring in the nganga (witch doctor)". When I heard this I laughed and said "you have to be kidding". I was told that 80 - 90% of the people believe in the witch doctor.
The morning I left camp by charter flight the head of the company arrived and spoke with all employees and told them the witch doctor would be arriving that night and he would be able to tell who the thief was. We got on the plane and headed for Mombasa for my flight to Nairobi.
Upon arrival in Nairobi I checked my email and had a note from the camp manager that they now knew who the thief was. One of the employees, after hearing the witch doctor would be there that night, took off on foot through the bush. KWS and the police were notified.
Most lodges and camps have a safety deposit box or safe. Please be sure you put ALL your valuables including money, passport and insurance information in them. I use them but failed to put the belongings from my wallet in them. I carry it with me all the time with brush, comb, lipstick, etc. and didn't give it much thought. I will do it differently next time.
I still put my trust in 99% of the employees I know, but it only takes one bad apple to ruin everything. Will I go back again, you bet! Luckily this happenend to me. I've been there 10 times and know this is not the norm. Imagine if it had happened to someone who had never been there and didn't know who they could trust.
Like many of you, I am not wealthy. I work hard to be able to travel to Africa twice a year. However, to the average African, we are all wealthy. When one is desperately trying to figure out how to feed their family, one can understand the temptation.
In the end everything worked out fine, the head of the safari company, the camp manager and all the employees went above and beyond what I would have expected, but I learned an important lesson.
Jan
Aug 25th, 2006 | 06:12 PM
#24
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,395
Likes: 0
Jan-Glad it all worked out for you and you got all of your stuff back. I had a similar theft incident last year in Zambia. It's amazing how the other 99% of the staff join together to try to catch the thief and how upset it makes them, knowing there is a thief amongst them and it happened at their camp. Though I don't think our camp used a witch doctor, all of our stuff was recovered also. I'm reading an excellent book on Tsavo now (Ghosts of Tsavo) and would really like to visit there!
Aug 27th, 2006 | 01:51 PM
#26
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,238
Likes: 0
That is a fascinating story and it seems odd that it would ever be deleted because it really shows that you will probably get more attention to a theft in a safaari camp that you would anywhere else in the world. Glad it worked out for you.
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