My service in the Police Mobile Force Zanzibar

In 1963, at the age of 16 years with the wish and the blessings of my parents I entered the Police Mobile Force in Zanzibar to serve my country. At that time the barrarck were situated in Mtoni, four miles north of Stonetown.

My parents idea was to give me an education there and as they thought that in the police I would not go astray as a young boy. They hoped that I would learn disciplin and skills which would help me later in life. they will help me in my further life.

The understanding  and realization came later

The first months were very hard for me, because I was not used to being separated from my family. I was young and wanted to enjoy my life in town and wanted to be together with my friends. In the beginning I could not see that my parents wanted to help me and push me on the right track. This understanding came much later!

After I got used to my new situation, I started to like somehow the new life in the barracs. Most fun for me were the parades and also to fullfill the salt course, where I jumped like a monkey from palm tree to palm tree. I was very sporty at that time. So all these exercises were easy for me and I scoored very good. This gave me a plus on my self-confidence. Another advantage was that I got also a sallery of 100 shilling – at that time a lot of money for a young man like me.