Nine tourists robbed of valuables in Arusha

Nine tourists from Denmark were robbed of their valuables on Friday, December 1, by unknown people, Arusha regional Police commander Charles Mkumbo has said.

The tourists, who were heading to Serengeti National Park (Senapa), were robbed of their personal items at Moroni Village near Lake Natron.

Apart from being robbed of their valuables, the police chief told reporters, the tourists were physically attacked by the assailants.

The suspected robbers had blocked the road with boulders forcing the drivers of the two vehicles carrying the tourists to stop.

The items stolen included cash money $400 (Sh900,000), rand2,000 (Sh325,000) and Sh600,000.

Mr Mkumbo said the police have already launched investigations using a team that will be led by regional crimes officer George Katabazi.

He further explained that none of the tourists sustained serious injuries and that after the incident they continued with their journey.

One of the eye witnesses (name withheld) said the robbers had placed huge stones on the road before robbing the tourists of their valuable items.

The police boss vowed to bring the criminals to justice pledging to tigten security in the region so that businesses would run on smoothly.

Tanzania’s northern tourist circuit attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. General safety in the country is one of the key conditions that attract the visitors.

The country currently aims at hitting the 2 million visitors mark per annum in the coming few years.