36 gang suspects held over rampage

Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam is finally calm after fears of possible attacks by a gang of youths known as Panya Road on Friday evening fizzled out.

By yesterday, police said 36 arrests had been made over Panya Road.

Police spokesperson Advera Bulimba said in a statement that police were working tirelessly to ensure to arrest anyone involved in the incident.

She called on wananchi to cooperate with the police by dialling 0754785557 whenever they hear or see people who are involved in the malpractice.

Dar es Salaam Police Special Zone  Commander Suleiman Kova called upon social network users to refrain from spreading messages that they were not sure of, saying they pose a threat to peace.

The Citizen on Sunday established that Friday’s two-hour tension in city suburbs was fuelled by false alarms over Panya Road attacks,  causing panic. People scampered for safety, businesses were closed and motorists diverted routes. Public transport became chaotic.

The story about the marauding teenagers  spread quickly from Magomeni to Sinza, Mabibo and Tabata. The  information spread quickly to all Dar es Salaam districts: Ilala, Kinondoni and Temeke.

It all started after the burial of one of the gang members, The Citizen on Sunday has been told. After the burial, conducted at Magomeni, the other members of the gang start looting only to be confronted by police who were near the burial site.

Riot police lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the group. Then the  story about Panya Road spread. This paper established that the youths intended to take revenge on killers of their colleague Mohammed Ayubu a.k.a. Diamond, who was beaten to death by a Tandale mob on the New Year Eve after he was allegedly tried to steal a motorcycle at Tandale Yemen in Kinondoni District.

After his burial, Ayubu’s colleagues rioted, forcing many people to close their businesses and rush to their homes. The news was picked by the social media and reached other city places where Panya Road were not terrorising people, sending people running for safety and closing businesses.

Those who reached safe places alerted their relatives and friends that Panya Road were on the rampage.

Others alleged that the gangsters had approached Sinza, Mabibo and Tabata, generating intense fear.

Police  said they were looking for the gang members.

“We were surprised to see a group of youths flocking to our house asking us where the body of their colleague was and we were frightened because they looked hostile,” said Mr  Moshi Mohammed, a brother to the deceased.  He said after completing the processes to get the body from the Muhimbili National Hospital they went to the mosque and after the prayers the body was taken by the youths after they overpowered the mosque leaders.

From there the group carried the body to the graveyard but after the burial they said a senior gang leader could not be buried without being accompanied by an unusual event. It was when they started looting shops  and beating up people on the streets.