GANG GRABS SH1 BILLION FROM BANK

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova

Police have launched a manhunt for eight gunmen who grabbed almost Sh1 billion in a bank robbery in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova, said police were following a number of leads after the robbery at the Kariakoo Branch of Habib Bank.

“We suspect that this was an inside job...we have linked some of the bank’s employees with the robbery,” he told journalists.

The robbers entered the bank located at the junction of Uhuru and Livingstone streets at around 9am and whipped out guns. They ordered all customers and staff to lie on the floor before proceeding to grab wads of cash from tellers’ cubicles.

They then took more money from the strongroom as terrified customers cowered on the floor before making a clean getaway.

Mr Kova said the gang fled with $180,000 (Sh288 million) and Sh700 million.

One of the gangsters was in police uniform, adding that a number of the bank’s employees were being investigated in connection with the robbery, he added.

“We particularly would like to know why a senior employee did not press a special button that would have alerted security personnel. The switch was at his fingertips, but he chose not to use it...we would like to know why,” Mr Kova said. He added that preliminary investigations had established that some employees were communicating with the robbers shortly before they struck.

“The robbers called out the names of some employees as they threateningly demanded access to the strongroom. This shows that this was an inside job.”

The gang’s raid was aided by the fact that security guards at the bank were not armed.

Mr Kova said a Sh100 million reward would be given to whoever would volunteer information that would lead to the robbers’ arrest.

“We have launched a manhunt, but there is an incentive of Sh100 million for the public to help us in our investigations,” he said.

The raid took place in a busy and congested area in Kariakoo, but few people outside were aware of the robbery until after the gangsters had left.

In another development, police have arrested two Kenyans and two Tanzanians in connection with the killing of Mr Ramadhan Mahembe, 38, a taxi driver who operated from Buguruni in the city.

Mr Kova said the suspects were found with Mr Mahembe’s body near Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club.

“Police were patrolling the area when they saw a taxi parked on the roadside. They then saw two men carrying a person into a nearby bush. Upon reaching the scene, they realised that the man being carried was dead,” said Mr Kova.

Police inspected the car and found blood on the driver’s seat. They immediately arrested the two men, who later admitted to have killed the taxi driver.

“The suspects told detectives during interrogation that they killed Mr Mahembe because they wanted to steal his vehicle and sell it. They also led us to two other suspects who were involved in planning the killing,’’ Mr Kova said.

He added that the suspects would appear in court soon.