Inmates shot, injured in Dar robbery drama

Members of a public look at prison bus after it was sprayed with bullets by robbers riding on motorcycles yesterday.Several inmates were wounded and some escaped in then confusion.PHOTO|FILE 

By The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

The witnesses said at least three remandees sustained bullet wounds while the bus was riddled with bullet holes.

Dar es Salaam. Gunmen yesterday opened fire at a prison bus in the city, injuring some remandees and providing an opportunity for others to escape, witnesses told The Citizen yesterday.

 

The shooting, a few minutes after 2pm occurred at Mikocheni area near TMJ Hospital. According to the witnesses, suspected robbers who were trailing a saloon car opened fire after they were blocked by the bus ferrying prison remandees.

Drama ensued when the driver of the prison van coming from Kawe tried to block the thugs riding on two motorcycles.

“I think he spotted the thugs and made as if to block them from pursuing the car,” a man who was at the scene and who asked not to be named said.

He added that the action angered the robbers who started firing bullets at the bus, sending panic to bystanders and other motorists.

In the ensuing confusion, some remandees escaped through the back window of the bus that was shuttered. Another duo of the thugs followed the car as their accomplices attacked the prison van.

The witnesses said at least three remandees sustained bullet wounds while the bus was riddled with bullet holes.

“All the robbers rode off to an unknown place after grabbing a bag from the shaken occupants the car. It is believed the bag contained unknown amounts of money,” another woman explained.

The director of legal and prisons affairs, Dr Juma Malewa, confirmed the incident but told The Citizen he could not verify all the details as narrated by witnesses. “I was called by my subordinates to inform me about the incident,” he said