Namanga car driver arrested for robbing his passengers
He reportedly drove them straight into highway bandits' den
By Nyamanoko Bwire
Local criminals are never short of new tricks, this time they are alleged to
work with drivers of commuter vans whereby passengers become unwitting victims
of the highway robbery.
In connection with such crime, the Police in Arusha Region recently arrested one
Joseph Karanga, aged 35, who drives a Peugeot 505 with registration number TZE
4277, which plies between Arusha municipality and the Namanga border town.
Karanga is alleged to have arranged with highway bandits, along the main Namanga
road, then drove his passengers right into the proposed spot for the crime and
let them get ambushed by the robbers as he watched.
Regional Police Commander, James Kombe said the incident occurred last weekend
at the Kwa-Iddi area, near Ngaramtoni, where Karanga slammed on the brakes in
the middle of nowhere, after which, a gang of men appeared and robbed his Arusha
bound passengers.
According to the passengers statement, throughout their journey from Namanga to
the robbers rendezvous, the driver kept communicating via his mobile phone to
some unknown party and drove at suspiciously slow speed in some cases stopping
for no good reason at all.
When the passengers queried him about that behavior, the driver assured them
that everything was alright and thus there should be no cause for alarm. When
the vehicle reached the said spot, the driver is reported to have made the final
phone call after which, the gang appeared.
The gang then proceeded to rob them of their belongings including cellular
phones, driving licences and money.
After taking the goods, the driver is reported to have told the thugs to clear
off, which they did, while he on the other hand, also abandoned his vehicle at
the road side, before taking off, leaving the stranded passengers, dumbstruck.
Using alternative means of transport, the passengers managed to reach Arusha and
headed to the police station where they reported the matter. Apparently, the
vehicle driver had also gone to report the issue at the Sakina Police post,
posing as the victim and claiming that, robbers had ambushed his car and robbed
his passengers.
The police at Sakina post, radioed the case to the central police station, but
since already the passengers had reported the case, the Regional Crime Officer
ordered the driver to be brought before him.
At the Central Station, the driver found himself being confronted by the angry
passengers, who unleashed verbal attacks on him. The police promptly put him
under arrest. The driver was to appear before the court early this week.
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