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| National |
| Raw Stuff |
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by
Edward Chitsulo, 21 April 2007
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07:22:37
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Let’s discuss crime, security
The other day we heard very sad news from Chileka—a set of four massive dogs hurled themselves onto a man who was going about his business, jogging. He later died in a Blantyre hospital due to severe loss of blood.
Dear Raw Stuffers, before I say anything, let me declare my interest in the matter: the deceased, Kenneth Gondwe, was somebody I knew for long; firstly as a college-mate before he went for a prestigious course in aircraft engineering—a path that saw him land a job at Air Malawi; and secondly as a jolly fellow Blantyre citizen. I saw him use his intellect and experience to carve himself a place as an astute businessman.
In fact, as fate would have it, the last time I met Ken was in People’s mainshop in Blantyre. He jokingly said this to my spouse: “Madam, continue keeping this rascal on leash and thanks for making sure he stays alive all this time!” He pulled along his spouse and made introductions for the four of us. As a symbolic teasing gesture of appreciation, he gave my spouse K200, saying: “Buy more bread for this man to have more tea at home. I see that he stopped drinking!”
We all laughed and went about our shopping.
Then, a few days ago, I heard about Ken’s demise.
Esteemed Raw Stuffers, let me also disclose that I know the owner of the dogs, Francis Mijiga. He comes from a well-meaning, self-respecting family in which one of our Moyas from Thekerani is married. The Mijigas are a nice and hard-working family of respectable business folks and professionals.
So, whatever I will say here is something I have to say with a heavy heart. I feel short-changed. A friend like Ken, gone, just like that?
And whatever legal or social opinion has already been advanced, I believe Ken’s death brings to the fore a fundamental problem we as a nation are refusing to address: crime.
The dogs’ owner kept the animals to protect himself, his family and property against the unprecedentedly high crime we are facing these days, armed robbery, in particular. I just feel it’s unfortunate the workers or himself may not have kept the dogs on “the leash” Ken was ironically referring to at People’s.
But the fact is, in this country we are talking too much about crime and doing very little to curb it. In some cases, like in Blantyre’s Ndirande Township, we seem to be doing a lot of physical work—going door to door waking up and disturbing honest people at night—looking for the “naked man in white underwear” without much thinking or sophistication befitting a modern police service.
In terms of the overall crime wave hitting the country, Raw Stuffers, I think we are not addressing the fundamental problems of unemployment, deteriorating cultural, social or (in particular) religious values among our youths—who seem more prone to crime and delinquency these days than was the case, say, during the Ngwazi’s times.
If I may go back to what I have been talking about recently, moral education in the family, the village or urban areas has fast been swallowed by the side-effects of urbanisation and corrupt western values—in which crime and violence are not uncommon elements. The negative heroism of quick riches, ziomba or being seen as untouchable by the authorities seems to be gaining currency as a social value these days.
In contrast, honest Raw Stuffers, I want to draw your valuable attention to the Middle East, Dubai, for example, where crime is virtually non-existent due to their religion and cultural respect for other people’s property. I recall one bemused reporter from our newsroom sometime last year forgot his passport and other valuables at a counter in that country’s shop only to get the stuff intact at the police where he went to report the loss. Good citizens or rather good Muslims had spotted the valuables and deposited them with the nearest authorities!
In that country, there is no need for heavy security systems, hardware or animal-ware like the four hostile dogs that assaulted Kenneth Gondwe.
Which also reminds me of what happened in the UK in the early 90s when I was on attachment to a Bristol newspaper. There was massive debate about some Rottweiler dogs and their cousins that were tearing babies and adults to death in situations like the Chileka one. Human life campaigners, the media, individuals, families, etc, all went up in arms, demanding the complete extermination of the vicious species.
In fact, in some cases the dogs were mowed down, in other cases stringent measures were reinforced (because the UK already had something in place). I am not sure whether Ken’s demise may not be an opportunity for us to debate and re-think the issue of crime and personal security in this otherwise peaceful Republic.
My take is that the Gondwe incident is a symptom of malaise and social decay, requiring a wholesome solution. To me it’s not who was keeping what dog or what should have been done by who? And I write not to blame Mijiga or any dog owner. I write not to lament or bury my friend Ken Gondwe, no. But I write to cry for Malawi. Where are we going?
Walk through the low and high density areas of our towns, it is all walls, walls and walls plus electric fences. Some inter-personal communication guru once wrote that walls block communication and destroy civilisations. To which I add: walls, dogs and alarm systems are a sign of decay.
If our civilisation were intact, the way we got it at Creation, Ken should not have gone down ngati mwana wakukhonde. (He should not have died what we call a stupid death). May his soul rest in peace.
POSTSCRIPT
The authorities described the four killer dogs that sent Kenneth Gondwe to his early grave as: a South African male Rottweiler, an Alsatian female, a cross-breed and a local female breed. What combination of aggression!
Some definitions of these dogs:
Rottweiler: A large dog that can be aggressive.
Alsatian: Also known as German shepherd dog. It is large and often trained to help the police to guard buildings or (especially in the US) to help blind people find their way.
A local female breed (Galu wamkazi, in Chichewa): In Malawi, a female dog is always associated with extreme aggression. So too is a female witchcraft practitioner or trainer.
—Feedback: echitsulo@yahoo.com
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