Kidnapped

Sango Bay. The branch to the bay is 40 km. Deserted marsh land and forest. You would not be surprised to see an elephant, but they have of course been eaten a long time ago. No doubt quite impressive snakes could be encountered. I had already been instructed by my captain Philemon how to kill a python with bare hands: avoid the tail side, approach the head from behind. Grab the upper jaw with one hand, and the lower jaw with the other. Then tear upper and lower jaw apart. Without much effort, you will tear the snake in the length direction. He did it many times. I did not see a python, or even a cobra

I only saw some monkeys. My map displays the start of the branch to the lake in a town. But it was more than 5 km before. After reaching the lake, the local towns on the map: Mubanzi, Goma and Muzinda, turn out to be unknown to the local population. Apparently, the map maker put the towns there on unreliable hearsay. There is only one town, a booming shanty village called Kasenssero (Kasessere, and all spellings in between are used), around a recently built Indian fish factory.

Photo: 060324 Sunrise Sango Bay. Can't go off this hill for loss of GSM coverage. I did not know the dhow had already reached "Mr. Malima & His Camp"

Time: 0603241131 SMS From: Philemon Time, unknown sender number +255745389138:
We are under TZ police at Bukoba near Kasanssero UG. They need you for negotiation. Call us back later.

Time: 0603241232 SMS To: William (manager Tourist Office Bukoba)
My boat from Bukoba to Kasanssero UG taken by TZ police, please inquire and act if possible. I am in Kasanssero

Time: 0603241226 SMS To Philemon (3 numbers: 0746 800671, 0746 469456, 0745 389138):
Call William (Bukoba) 0741568276

Time: 0603241232 SMS To: William
Numbers used by my captain: 0746 800671 0746 469456 0745 389138

12:50 Failed attempt voice call from +255 48 579 858 unknown number. Heavy rainstorm. Me and caller keep trying. Rings, no voice.

Time: 0603241336 SMS To: Faustin Malongo (My Mwanza Lawyer)
My boat from Bukoba to Kasanssero UG taken by TZ police, please inquire and act if possible. I am in Kasanssero
SMS To: Faustin Malongo Time: 0603241338
Numbers used by my captain 0746 800671, 0746 469456, 0745 389138

SMS From: Philemon Time, unknown sender number +255745389138:
Come to Mr. Malima & His Camp, Kasanssero police or fisheries inspection know the place.

SMS To: Bart Lacroix, manager Bukoba Tourist Office
Please give phone nrs. Regional Police Commander and other big shots Bukoba

Phone to Faustin Malongo (My Mwanza Lawyer)
Please phone numbers all big shots in Bukoba

SMS From: Bart Lacroix, manager Bukoba Tourist Office
Mobile Phone number Regional Police Commander Bukoba: xxxxxxxxx

Regional Police Commander to his mobile phone.
Hello, I am Bert hamminga calling you from Uganda..
RPC: Who are you!!
I am Bert hamminga calling you from Uganda. My ship is seized by a group called Mr. Malima & His Camp. They claim to be police. They want money. Do you know about such an operation?
I, heuh...am not aware of such an operation.
That makes me sure it is not police. Commander, I am fearing for my crew's lives. What can you do?
I will inquire.
Can I call you back later?
Make it tomorrow.
Thank you, bye.

Sunset. I drive back through the bush to Masaka (180 km, 2 hrs), just in time for the closing internet cafe. Bloc recent web updates of greetings concerning misbehaviour of Mwanza Immigration officers.

Back to Joseph's camp, shortly South of Masaka. Fall on bed exhausted. Phone to Xxxx. Not seen email yet. He is tired. Has to eat first. Will call back . I sleep. My alarm on 22:30 hrs. just for the case Xxxx does not call me before that time. 22:30 hrs. I call Xxxx. He is switched off. Security option discarded.

Next morning, 060325. Back to Kasanssero. I find Philemon. Meticulous interview on sequence of events, personnel involved, weapons, terrain etc. See "Report By Captain on Malima TZ Police Raid". Use of all those time consuming details limited in the absence of a security option, but we should not serve Malima with speed anyway. Philemon feels sure boat released if I pay half a million ($450). A fortune to Tanzania standards. I decide to have a try but give myself less than 50% chance. Anyway, I order Philemon to take a lot of food to survive in case of continued kidnapping.

Photo: Back to the seized dhow and Tanzania with ransom and food to survive continued kidnapping

After four hours, Philemon and crew are at Kasanssero beach with the dhow. No ransom was paid. I was told: "Malima had started to fear"

Photo: first time I see my dhow outside Bwiru bay where it was built.
Crew (Philemon second from left) and dhow safely out of Tanzania, ransom demanded by TZ police still in pocket.
Kasanssero fisher's beach with typical late afternoon thermal lake wind

Summary email to my Mwanza lawyer sent later (060401 from Jinja)

How are you doing? Hope all is well.
Update:
I give you a short summary, details will be posted as links to website pages in the coming days.
The TZ marine police group "Mr. Malima & His Camp" had seized my captain and 5 crew, beating my captain severely. After a rough search in the hold they told crew they were arrested. They seized all papers.
They forced my captain to SMS "emergency" signals to me, saying they needed me for "negotiation".
They got annoyed because I did not come, decided to send him out, with one crew, to the Uganda side, Kasanssero, without passports, in order to obtain a ransom from me. There was no amount specified, but Mr. Malima had first mentioned half a million and later had mentioned he thought of a million.
Meanwhile a Bukoba friend had obtained and given me the mobile number of Regional Police Commander (RPC) Bukoba. I reported to the RPC the events and the name Mr. Malima. RPG did not react on hearing this name but hesitatingly confessed to be unaware of such an operation. I told him that his unawareness made me sure this could not be police and urged him to act swiftly because I was fearing for captain and crew's life. Of course, in truth I never had any doubt we had to do with TZ police officers on duty.
Malima continuously sent emergency SMS messages pretending to be crew "we are held by TZ police WHERE ARE YOU????". I answered several times: "Went back to Masaka organizing your release"
On meeting my captain and 1 crew in Kasanssero I interviewed them meticulously, and held them there for a while since I judged time on my side.
Then I send them back with half a million and food for many days, for the case Malima would take the money and not release the ship.
Four hours later my captain arrived at Kasanssero with boat and all crew. On his return to the boat near "Mr. Malima & His Camp", from where he planned to go on to Malima, pay the ransom, and receive the seized papers, his crew told him Malima had been there to return the papers to them and had said they were free and could go. "Malima had started to fear", my captain was told. What had caused this is still to settle. Mr. Malima did ask nor mention the operation of Mwanza Immigration Office against me. Crew did not inform him. Malima did not mention anything about contact with RPC Bukoba or any representative as a sequel of my phone call (in which RPC did not give me the impression he was going to be serious about it: RPC did not ask me any details. Being without them, he was unlikely to do something).
On arrival at Kasanssero, my captain briefed me and returned the ransom money.
In sum: though in terms of money at stake many times smaller, in terms of misbehaviour these TZ police officers even came close to what I had experienced some weeks before with TZ immigration.
We are now finishing the dhow in Jinja. On checking the personal effects, many items, mainly tools, were missing. We shall calculate the value, but I now estimate it is roughly $1000. On interviewing my crew I was told that Captain Philemon, carpenters Doi and Gabriel (the latter a brother of contractor Daniel) are ready to witness to police and court that these items have been stolen by Daniel, who thinks I can not come back to TZ to retrieve my property. The Malima police officers had not been alone with my property, and had not taken anything during their brute search, except the captain's knife. We shall deal with Daniel in May. Finishing of the dhow will take some weeks. I now have a hotel room. In the next days, I will move to the dhow.
Question:
What to do with the Land Tribunal issue? Fixed for mention on 4/4/2006. I can attend any court meeting after May 1, 2006. The papers of the case, if shown at TZ border, might even be useful now, in making purpose of visit to Tanzania : "attending court case against me". Immigration might fear to refuse.
Greetings!
Bert