New robbery style hits Dar

By Lucas Liganga, The Citizen Chief Reporter

Dar es Salaam. 

A wave of drive-by mugging has set the alarm bells ringing in this city of five million people. 

The attacks are carried out by thieves in vehicles, who cruise down the streets waiting to pounce on unsuspecting pedestrians walking along the roads, the objective being to snatch their handbags. 

The handbag raiders operate mainly in affluent areas such as Masaki during the day and move to the city centre in the evenings. The victims, most of them foreigners, complain that the police take no action even when they report the attacks. 

Last weekend, a drive-by mugging turned deadly when a 48-year-old Greek medical doctor working with the ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece, Dr Petroula Hatzipandazi, was killed at Upanga after the muggers grabbed the back-pack strapped to her back and dragged her down the road for about 150 metres. She died later in hospital.

The response from the authorities has been muted, with the police failing to respond to queries on what they are doing to curb the crime wave.  

The Hellenic Society of Tanganyika, which takes care of the interests and welfare of Greeks in the country, has expressed concern about the government’s silence over the attack on Dr Hatzipandazi and similar cases.

 “At this point, all we expect is at least a message of sympathy from the Tanzanian government or local authorities—a much deserved condolence message to the family of 

Dr Hatzipandazi, the Greek government and her colleagues,” said Dimitri Mantheakis, chairman of the Hellenic Society.

A belated response from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation to The Citizen yesterday said it has written to the Inspector General of Police requesting that his office thunt down those involved in the killing of Dr Hatzipandazi.   

The letter is copied to the Chief Secretary, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Embassy of Greece in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

“We have received with shock the news of the killing of the Greek woman diplomat,” Permanent Secretary John Haule told The Citizen in a telephone interview. “We hope the culprits will be arrested and prosecuted.” 

The ministry also received information that a second woman was recently mugged in Dar es Salaam. “We have instructed the IGP to make serious follow-ups on these incidents that might tarnish the good name of our country,” added the PS.

The Dar es Salaam Special Zone regional police commander Suleiman Kova yesterday declined to comment on what the police were doing to curb the muggings. He would not confirm whether or not the CCTV cameras installed in the streets were working. “We will talk to the media tomorrow and give details on the issue,” Mr Kova said.

But the Ilala Regional Commander ACP, Marietha Minangi, was more forthcoming, and told The Citizen on Monday that investigations into the death of Dr Hatzipandazi were underway.  

An email response from Ambassador E. Kouvaritakis, who also covers Tanzania after the closing of the Greece Consulate here, said Dr Hatzipandazi’s body will be flown to Greece tonight.

In an effort to press for action to stem drive-by muggings in the city, a group of former victims have started a facebook page  HYPERLINK “https://www.facebook.com/groups/166388156831623/” https://www.facebook.com/groups/166388156831623/ where people post their experiences.

Dr Hatzipandazi was in charge of a group of 33 Greek medical doctors and professors visiting Tanzania on a volunteer mission to help the sick in rural Iringa at the invitation of the office of Patriarchate  of the  Greek Orthodox Church mission based in Alexandria, Egypt.

According to Mr Mantheakis, the Dar es Salaam chapter of the Hellenic Society organised a farewell dinner on Sunday for the visiting doctors at the Parthenon Hall opposite the Red Cross Society of Tanzania headquarters. Dr Hatzipandazi and her colleagues, who were staying at the Palm Beach Hotel, left the hotel at 7.30pm and decided to walk to the hall.

“Little did the doctors imagine that outside Upanga Club a private car, with somebody hanging out up to his waist, would drive by and grab her little back- pack containing her meagre  personal belongings, including her  passport and phone,” said Mr Mantheakis.

The diplomat called on the government of Tanzania to ensure that Dar es Salaam is not reduced to the status of an unsafe African city.

He added: “Let all the progressive citizens of this great city today challenge ourselves in helping educate our youth that every visitor who comes to Dar es Salaam is a visitor to all of us and we have an obligation to help our guests as much as possible and also protect them as we would expect to be protected when we visit their countries. Let every visitor go back with good memories and respect for all that was extended to them by their hosts.”

Source: The Citizen (27/09/2012): http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/component/content/article/37-tanzania-top-news-story/26106-new-robbery-style-hits-dar.html