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Created 04-12-26
Last edited 14-08-20

Theft, Robbery And War

It is generally known and taught that among wild animals, the young ones are cute, the females should be dealt with very carefully, the adolescent males are dangerous and the adult males deadly. It may seem almost indecent to say that among sub-Saharan African humans it is the same. Yet, this a very adequate summary of safety warnings proper to give visitors of the region. Neither in the case of the animals nor in that of the humans "wild" means to be void of culture. Quite the contrary! Both have adapted with great sophistication to survive in their environment, and the result, less surprising in nature reserves, will keep astonishing Westerners for a long time as far as sub-Saharan African humans are concerned.

Self respect, image, pride. < Mandeville

See also: Stealing in Africa

Imaging a school yard. Children are running around playing. It is a hard world: one is picked on by all others, the rest is in a struggle for power or hiding away for others that seem not to like them. There is screaming, there are bad threats, there is bullying, there is fight. But fortunately, there also teachers. And if children at home report school problems parents come to talk. Now imagine this school yard as an island without teachers and parents and imagine the children are given cars and guns. Of course they will learn to operate them. Children are learning fast. But not long afterwards, most cars will lie around in all kinds of positions, malfunctioning. Many guns will still work, but will have become not less dangerous to any other than to the target. Think of what kind of short term ideas and desires come up un the children's minds. Imagine how the ensuing quarrels will get settled on this armed unsupervised schoolyard. Now, you start thinking of a negro society.

And it is hopeless: this is a matter of racial difference in brain development to adulthood. Western children are no match for African children. African children are immensely far better in everything. But somewhere the negro brain development stops and the negro is "adult". His white counterpart will stay a non full grown for at least ten more years. In those years the white brain becomes capable of causing global warming, operating hydrogen bombs that can split the earth, making toothpaste that comes out in coloured stripes etc. 

It may be a bit on the safe side, but it is recommended to assume that all property in Africa is continuously monitored for stealing and robbery opportunities, and police and private security officers take part in that monitoring. The predator instinct reigns Africa. Until less than one hundred years ago, hunt and war were the sole tasks of the adult Afican male: thus they have good eyes, good ears, they are no steady workers, but ready to cease an opportunity. All other jobs of the community were done by women and children. How can you expect this predator instinct, genetically so rewarding for thousands of years, to disappear in such short a time? Until today, virtually every adult male seizes every opportunity to seize anything, from the simplest village man, to the heads of national government. It is an instinct, it is a genetic thing that surface and became prominent in hundreds of thousands of years of survival in the African biotope. There is a development, however: many now living African adult males would be totally unsuitable for traditional hunt and war. But the grabbing feature of the predator most of them still have.

Theft

Origin in animal > mammal behaviour

Small theft is considered to be a kind of taxation, an involuntary contribution to a good cause, or a small suppletion of the thief's wage as your worker, housekeeper, cleaner etc  Uganda Customs steals a western suit. Even while stealing big, one leaves something: from my room rented from Kamkala Sinnautics Tanzania,  TSh 2 520 000/= was stolen, the thief left TSh 300 000/=

Stealing is chiefly a men's job, as much in the ranks of police as outside, although policewomen are sometime led into believing that harassing cars for a little money is honest way of making a living.

 
Every over-middle class private house, every fuel station, every store here is guarded by a watchman in the uniform, endowed with a highly questionable gun, of one of the many commercial security companies. Many private houses and other establishments are guarded during the dark only, so at sunset you see trucks, one after the other, crammed with uniforms standing in the frame on the platform. They drive in all directions. In a 200 000 town like Jinja, at sunset such trucks drop at least 5, if not 10 000 uniforms. There is quite some hiring and firing in these circles. Tracking an individual's career in and out these security companies is difficult since the passport is not a paper Ugandans usually have, and frequently boys come from the bush with an identity statement from their village elders. Once caught for crime, you have to go to some village elders for a new identity. Ugandans frequently change their names, as you can hear when they are greeted by an old friend, or when they said: that was the time they called me...  It hence is fair to say that security companies hire thugs to guard values against other thugs, and moreover, there is a lot of swapping between the two teams [some anecdotes]

Askari's can not enter your house. Even your own housekeeper is locked out when the family is not there, honest housekeepers are always in great worries that nothing is missing, because not only they will be considered negligent, but they will likely be thought to be the culprit.

Understanding about this: you are safe for being blamed if locked out.\

Knowing whodunnit is not getting a confession, Confession is not retrieval of money.

Askari caught on video stealing 10 000 from a box. How can I be there if I was outside? Police finds this convincing 1) is same tribe, 2) gets his share

Lost is lost

Having a total list of one to six suspects is not enough. Not for blacks, if it is much money: they start cutting ears, noses and limbs until they have the money. (see war and politics)

Self service shops require depositing of bags, but the muzungu can take it. This holds for Indian as well as for Black owned shops.

Stealing from the dhow: missing.html
 

Robbery

The range of considerations

Origin in animal > mammal behaviour predator instinct (no mercy I have to eat, not a "purely technical" issue, but one where emotions are directed to the aim, like a top football team is not feeling sorry for the other team to loose, like Westerns slaughterhouses kill for meat without feeling sorry for the animals)

If they have guns they kill you for a dollar. Your life is not within the range of considerations.

Is is not according to African etiquette to pay a visit to someone, in the dark, especially if you do not know the person. You will scare them. In the dark, people are at home and beware of anyone approaching.

Pirates operating from Kemondo Bay (near Bukoba), Tanzanian police involved in piracy, Tanzanian military intervention 2004 (never been a news item?).

Contents of a popular song, played on radio and sold on cassettes, by singer Kakamani, about Tanzania police and crime (dictated to me by a Tanzanian):

This guy had been working finding money so when he got money he wants to establish something for business. Then when before starting his business the government comes begging for payment of licenses, this, this, so this guy says it difficult to pay this because the money I have is only for business, not to pay for licenses. So the government prohibits this guy to start his business before paying but he decides to start and he started. So after starting the policeman came and caught him so after catching they sent this guy to the police station so there he stayed almost one week and then he was released. One year later this guy met one police crying: "my cell phone is stolen!". It was weekend, they were in a bar drinking.  So this guy came near to this police and asked: "what happened to you?" The policeman replied that cell phone was stolen but it does not matter, he said, I will buy a new one. So this guy went home. One day later he went in the streets, struggling to find food for home. But his cell phone also got stolen by robbery. So he went to the police station to report. After reporting this policeman said we cannot catch these guys they have already disappeared. This guy said: "But I saw you standing there while my cell phone was taken and you did not come to help me. I do not know why, I think you know these guys." The policeman became angry and wanted to put this guy in jail again. So this guy begged for being forgiven and the policeman forgives him. So he went home to get money and buy another cell phone One week later these three robbers came again to this guy and took his cell phone. They disappeared with this second cell phone. But this guy this time did not go to police. He followed them in the streets. He swore that he would even be prepared to die: if I meet them I will have to fight and kill them, or they kill me. I am ready for any problems with the police. I am going to kill. After arriving there he shouted: "You have my cell phone!". People at that place surrounded the thieves to see what would happen. After he explained to these people that they had stolen his cell phone, the people decided to help him and took his cell phone from the thieves.

The messages are clear: Government frustrates private business by trying to extort money even before it starts up, so no chance for economic growth, Tanzania will stay poor. Moreover, police cooperates with robbers and shares the booty.

Lake Crime Stories

 

Killing thugs

At theft and robbery, everybody comes to help to catch the thugs. They will be killed on the spot. Not for you, but because they like to kill thugs, just like I do.

I would enjoy to kill every single thief of every one of the six bicycles stolen from me in The Netherlands (everybody blames the "foreigners", just like here in Africa, but no doubt they are Dutch).

However among the lynchers there will be a good many thieves and robbers who not only enjoy the act of killing "in full justice", but also eliminate a competitor. After all, in Africa the amount of value objects is very limited so on the market for theft and robbery there is an excess demand for it. As a result minor robbers have to satisfy themselves with low value, high risk operations> sailing club. ("come and rob me tomorrow night 3:00 hrs, you will find a quarter million" (three hours before they would have found one million))

"Security problem" Is that your security people are very dangerous.

Compare to robbery by KUB-UvT. In Africa I would have had to anticipate visits by quite rude rogues paid by my opponents or even from some ministry. Since I do not lack the money to do the same and retaliate, the conflict would shift to warlordism, far more honest than the "legal" hypocrisy of western elites. 

Some security anecdotes:

Catching riches, catching thieves

First of all: there is no big difference between the two: I you steal, usually you steal what has been stolen before. We are all thieves. No African thief will ever confess. Even if caught red handed he will deny and keep denying. Local police is not impressed by finger prints, DNA traces or even video tapes of the very act of stealing. Often knows it can expect a share in the booty if assisting the thief.
Fallen African presidents are known to have to be subjected by their successors to the most appalling types of torture if they are to reveal where they secured their stolen fortunes. Here, you should think of the gradual removal of limbs, ears, noses and genitals. This holds in general for all rulers or other rich falling into the hands of anybody else. In sum: stolen goods, if below the level where you are ready to acculturate in these unattractive respects, is lost forever. Prevention is what you concentrate on. Make sure you are known to be poor, and secure your assets well.

 

War and politics

Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, 11/10/07


A rebel has a very small carbon footprint. He is used to eat little and can own only what he can carry on his own head. And a very small group of rebels can clear a large area of people. Many have witnessed the astonishing come back of nature and wild life, even within an few months only!, when human roads get barred and mined.

* Oorlogen kosten Afrika 18 mrd dollar per jaar

Oorlogen en opstanden kosten Afrika gemiddeld 18 miljard dollar per jaar. Tussen 1990 en 2005 ging er zo'n 300 miljard dollar op aan oorlogen, ongeveer hetzelfde bedrag als de internationale hulp aan Afrika in die periode. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van drie ontwikkelingsorganisaties, waaronder Oxfam. Met 18 miljard dollar per jaar kan volgens Oxfam aids, tbs en malaria worden aangepakt en schoon water, sanitair en onderwijs worden betaald.

De ontwikkelingsorganisaties pleiten ervoor de wapenhandel beter te reguleren. Kalashnikov-geweren zijn het meest gebruikte wapen in conflicten in Afrika, en volgens de onderzoekers komt 95 procent van deze geweren van buiten Afrika het continent binnen.

 

this works with private, or special service prisons, torture, cutting ears, noses and limbs until you have your money.