Mugged

The alarm went off and the noise sent Elsa and Anna scurrying inside where they raced up the stairs to peer out the window as two police cars arrived emptying their constables out at the house opposite. It was very exciting for the girls. But it turned out to be a false alarm.

‘Granddad,’ Anna asked later, ‘have you ever been robbed?’

‘Yeah, several times.’ Replied Granddad rubbing his chin remembering the circumstances.

‘Tell us pleeeze.’ Asked Elsa, wanting to be told a story.

‘Ok, I’ll tell you about being mugged for my cell phone.’ He smiled.

‘It was in Arusha and I had left the Landrover at a workshop for repairs. The workshop was out of town so to fill in time I walked to the Agency office because I had some business to do there. It is about an hour’s walk away.

‘There is a little duka there.’

‘What’s a duka?’ Anna interrupted.

‘A duka is a shop – this one is just little, it sells sodas and some food.’ Granddad told them. ‘I had a Coca Cola.’

‘You don’t drink Coca Cola!’ insisted Elsa.

‘I did then,’ Granddad replied seriously, ‘in the African heat you have to keep your fluids up and Coke is a safe to drink. As well there is a lot of sugar in it which kept me going if I didn’t stop to eat.’ He didn’t mention the caffeine.

‘I had some business to do in the main part of town, and I remember texting Granny when I was near the central market. I had been looking for a price to buy more polythene tubing to make planter pots.

‘I never wore shorts when I was in town – to be polite to the culture – and I wore a polo shirt, not tucked in. My cell phone was in a pouch and clipped to my waist on the right side.’ He showed the girls where.

‘It took me perhaps fifteen minutes to walk on past the new supermarket called Shoprite and from there, really it’s not the safest place to be.’

‘Why not?’ asked Anna.

‘Well it is a poorer part of town.’ Grandad explained. ‘And the young guys don’t have much to do. They are not bad but always looking to get money. People who are not local don’t usually walk there.

‘I had walked through the busiest part, were there was hustle and bustle so relaxed a bit – I never felt unsafe.

‘Suddenly I felt someone slap both my shoulders from behind and then someone made a grab for my phone!

‘Why did they slap you?’ asked Elsa.

‘To distract me,’ replied Granddad, ‘twice pickpockets have done similar things, but they got away with nothing.

‘My phone fell to the ground but I was first to pick it up, so the thieves ran off. They knew exactly where my phone was, so I reckoned they had followed me all the way from the market.

‘I decided it might be safer to catch a bus, then decided not to as I was just twenty minutes from my mechanic. So I tucked the phone at the front of my trousers and off I set again.

‘They came back though! Only five minutes later, but this time one of them held me in a bear-hug from behind. I wiggled nearly free but the other grabbed the phone and the pair ran off into an alleyway.’

‘Were you scared?’ asked a wide eyed Elsa.

‘No, I just wanted my phone.’ Replied Granddad. ‘I went to run after them but a woman selling roasted maize cobs warned me that it would not be safe. I knew that already, but her timing was good and it did stop me – they might have had a knife.’

‘Did you speak her language?’ asked Anna.

‘Yes I spoke Kiswahili.’ He replied. ‘I walked on to the workshop and phoned the Agency. Musa came because we had to go to the police station and make a report so I could get an insurance refund.

‘While we were there, I spoke to this big Maasai man.’

‘What’s Maasai?’ asked Anna.

‘They are a well-known tribe who prefer their own traditions and clothes – but they have a reputation of being brave. Musa was Maasai and we lived with a Maasai family for two years.

‘Anyway this big fellow also had his phone snatched. It was in his shirt pocket and they just pushed him and as he fell back the grabbed his phone.’

‘Did you get your phone back?’ Asked Elsa.

‘No, they would have thrown the simcard away and sold the phone for a very cheap price. But it was a good phone and I missed it.’

The girls returned to their colouring books and Granddad put the kettle on.