NEWS > 25 August 2007

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Lusaka Lowdown - Lusaka,Zambia
25 August 2007

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Zambia: On The Prowl

They prowl the empty streets at night�waiting� in fast cars and on foot�living with crime and violence�

For anyone growing up around the 70�s in southern Africa, they would surely have listened to Squad Cars on Springbok Radio on a Friday evening, which started with the above quote. But today in Zambia, we have them prowling the streets and the shopping centres, day and night, in white Corollas and on foot, and they are not crime busters, but rather the perpetrators of crimes, ready to pounce on unsuspecting law-abiding citizens. And they all have a different modus operandi.

First is a group (or multiple groups) in either a white or grey or cream Corolla or a dark blue Golf type vehicle who are posing variously as officials from the Office of the President, the Anti-Corruption Commission or the Road Traffic Commission. They generally try to pull you over saying you have committed a traffic offence and that you need to proceed to the police station and that you can be arrested for the offence. They will then tell you to stop in a quiet roadside where they will proceed to intimidate you and eventually extract all the money from your purse or pocket. In some cases, they have even accompanied their victims to the ATM machine where they have extracted more money.

The second is a Zambian male, aged about 40-ish, height about 5'7", weight about 170 lbs, head not shaved and no glasses, very neatly dressed, very well spoken and very polite. He is "on the job" at shopping malls and fuel stations in Lusaka. He seems to target single white ladies (although we have one report of a white male being taken) and introduces himself by name (Mr Mwanza in my case and also in the case of two of my friends) and speaks of having met you at Immigration, or if that fails, the Road Traffic Commission and could he borrow K 300,000. He is very plausible and very good at his job and very smoothly relieved a friend of both her cell phone and purse. When he approached me, I promptly told him that being a Zambian citizen, he had not met me at Immigration and he very politely took his leave. But what further could I do : shouting for the police would do no good as he had not (yet) committed any crime.

The third is an outright thief who has stationed himself where the railway line crosses the road just north of Kafue. As you slow down to cross the railway line at night, he will jump on the back of your open vehicle and relieve you of the goods there. In our case it was a welding machine and thanks to the flashing of lights by the driver of the vehicle behind us, his attempt failed.

A few tips on how to prevent being conned by our mobile imposters:

If you find someone trying to wave you over, drive immediately to the closest police post or police station. Do not stop. Our pseudo Police/Anti-Corruption/Road Traffic officers seem quite happy operating in broad daylight and in busy places, unlike the normal thief. Thus be on your guard at all times, not only at night or in lonely places.

Most of their victims have been conned immediately after committing a minor trasffic offence. This immediately puts you at a psychological disadvantage. You need to know your rights : that you don�t have to pay an on-the-spot fine, that you cannot be arrested for doing a U-turn and so on.

Keep your doors locked and your windows closed (or mostly closed so that they cannot get their arms in) at all times. And if you do make the mistake of stopping, do not let them enter the vehicle, do not give them the keys or your cell phone

Have your cell phone with enough battery and enough talktime with you and have numbers in the phone of someone who you can call who will be able to give you advice and get help if necessary

If guns are involved, then you have no other choice but to do what they demand. But in all the reported cases guns were not involved.

The police also have their part to play. The public need to know whether:

There are traffic police officers who operate in plain clothes?

Police Officers on duty use private cars for controlling traffic?

Police Officers are allowed to take away cell phones, car keys?

Are they allowed to enter your vehicle and are they allowed to drive it?

I would say the answer to all of these is no.

All successful and unsuccessful attempts at robbery should be reported immediately to the police station, and it would be helpful if good descriptions of the vehicle (with the registration number) were available as well as how many people were in the car and descriptions of these people. If you have a camera on your cell phone , photos would also be good if the opportunity arises. Again: Don�t stop!

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Article sourced from

Lusaka Lowdown - Lusaka,Zambia25 August 2007

Zambia: On The Prowl

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Lusaka Lowdown - Lusaka,Zambia
25 August 2007