I Got Jacked (Again)!!!

Once again while walking through town, I got jacked! The second fucking time in a few years. The last time this happened I lost my phone and with it my will to live - just kidding, more like my will to be online. That marked the beginning of my hiatus from the internet for almost 2 years.

It played out almost exactly like the previous incident. I was stopped by a scruffy looking man with bloodshot eyes and the strong smell of spirit on him who held my arm firmly and wouldn’t let me shake him off. He then proceeded to ask me for money, this particular time for weed; I gave him 50bob, but that wasn’t enough. He then informed me that he had bought, or operated with, all the police in that area. He kept making my hand feel the gun he had in his waist band and he had a partner backing him up. When I gave him all I had, thankfully it was only a further 100 bob, it apparently wasn’t enough!!!

All he saw was a blur!!!

 When he started asking what type of phone I own, well let’s just say that was the straw that broke this camel’s back. I took of like a frightened gazelle that had just caught sight of a cheetah. I wasn’t about to lose my phone again, and thankfully I was in a crowded area and didn’t have to go far before I was surrounded by people. This was, as my kid brother told me when I told him the story, “A smart but dangerous move…”

One of my coworkers who was got his laptop taken after he was assaulted on a matatu with at least a dozen witnesses brought up something that I’ve been thinking about for sometime: most of these types of crime go unreported because the police can’t/won’t do anything about it and more so because it’s such a hassle that takes so much time and effort. But that doesn’t mean this information is not important. Consequently, I’ve been wondering if it would be a good idea to have some of this information, particularly on locations and times, crowdsourced. It seems like it would be a cool project to do using Ushahidi.

If I decide to pursue this project I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, you can let me know in the comments about the times you’ve been jacked and whether you’d be willing to contribute to crowdsourced information on petty crimes in your city and the methods you’d like to use to do this. Peace!!!