The thriving mobile theft

By Tafessework Wondimu

There is a story told of a man who was snatched of his sword leaving him only the sheath in tact. A friend of his scornfully remarked that he was lucky that the cover was spared him. The foolish man who was snatched of his valuable weapon answered him quickly by saying, “that would only have happened over my dead body.”

People rush every morning here and there the routine way to fulfill their day to day activities. Some drive their own cars, others take cabs and many more use the city buses. But, in their scramble to lead their daily lives, are they free from the scrutiny of others?

There is no better person than the police man, who knows deep into the evil eyes and testify about the different categories of thieves who snatch wallets, other valuable items and mobile phones. The theft of mobile phones has become routine business.

There are attraction spots for such insidious people who are merciless in their tactical theft. All public transportation, market and public places, common halls for settling bills, queue ups and rush-hour brisk walking are the most propitious opportunities for the gangsters. One of these unfortunate spots where people complain severely is the area around the Addis Ababa Transport Branch Office at Megenagna.

Parking their cars in convenient surroundings in the upper or lower sections of the building, customers proceed walking to the hall for the intended tasks. Young ruffians boys walk past them fast to and fro asking them for the time without turning their heads towards them. Some of them tell the boys, naively, but, nothing would happen to them, although it would even be their first encounter with such street hawks. Some find everything of their properties including their wallets, cell-phones, the keys of their cars, intact.

They finish business inside and start walking back to their cars. Other street hawks walk past them fast asking them again for the time; they, too, without turning their heads towards them. Some start suspecting that those boys may be thieves, but, they rush through the crowd. The customers of the Agency take the detours leading to their cars pushing through the crowd of people walking by tired. As the customers enter their cars some polite people approach them, only to ask them to check on their mobile telephones. Some quickly answer that their mobiles are not there.

The polite people then rush down the road but fail to spot the guys whom they suspect as the ones who snatched the cell-phones of the bewildered customers from their leather holders attached to their belts on one side of their waists. No matter how much they want to help the customers, they come back and drive away their cars or walk telling them that they had noticed the thieves while snatching the machines, rubbing shoulders with them in the crowd. Some, however, naïve as they are for such a thing and never ever would they suspect that such a thing would happen to them so swiftly in day light only leaving them the holders alone, like the person in the short story mentioned above as a prelude.

The surrounding of this Government Institution is thus notoriously known for the thriving mobile telephone theft. People, often a time, talk of being robbed of expensive cell-phones. But, for some, since they have no place in their heads to store bad events normally, the experience learnt from friends would not serve to protect them from the odds when their turn would arrive.

Apparently, some shout at the spots where the cell-phones were stolen by saying “where do these thieves sell the stolen properties, and add why the law enforcing agents do not take overt or covert measures at this notoriously recognized place to arrest at least some of them?”

It is heard that there are mobile repair shops mushrooming here and there. But, the question is where exactly do these shops get the spare parts? It is said, on the other hand, that there are no popular spare part shops for the different cell-phones that have entered the market in Addis Ababa ; yet, the repairing business is moving well. In that case, it appears that one of the easiest ways to build up spare-parts would be to accumulate mobiles that may be sold out cheaply by individuals; in so far as the craze for spare-parts may compel these shops to welcome any visitor with a juicy hand. However, could these shops be held liable, legally, for the lack of knowledge of the sources of such items?

Conversely, is it true that the sources for all mobiles that are handled by everybody, for that matter, are the normal mobile centers or shops? Could all categories of people afford to buy mobiles for anything beyond birr five hundred? (This is disregarding the joke about some of the Bole Medhanialem's beggars, who are claimed to possess mobile phones for easy dealing with house maids in the vicinity who equally own these phones, with the intention of driving away the poor and mobile-less beggars who flock to Bole from the nearby St. Mickael's Church.)

Although, Megenagna is notoriously known these days for such an ugly theft, it does not mean slightly that other public places are safe from blind snatchers. Wherever there are congregations of people, pick-pockets are present. This does not exclude even churches.

I think, since this is sometimes beyond the Administration's control, people, not only should they be aware of such a situation, but, they should be also aware of their indispensability in collaborating with the law enforcing body in pointing out their fingers to such snatchers and in unconditionally undisguising them in the interest of the general safety of the city.