Stupid Waitman

the Lily pond, with resident, but shy crocodile(s)

Tuesday

I went to Kina beach with my lunch, as I often do – meeting and talking to local youths and young men. On this occasion there were only two men present – sleeping after coming back late in the night from Bogia but they awoke and the shorter one insisted I photograph them ( I had brought my camera following request the previous week) which I did. The taller man then left and the remaining rascal wanted to take my photo but with his hands on the camera he made off at speed into banana plot 49.

I tried to call a couple of friends from the area but their phones were switched off. Office colleague (by-law enforcement officer) took me round with some previous photos I had taken to try and identify the individual.. We did trace some relatives and friends of people in my photographs who we visited at Balisiga market, Jomba and Wagol river area and asked for help in retrieving the camera but without success other than finding that a camera was on the market for k200

Wednesday I was intending to go to my lunch spot again for any news but one of the lads came into the office to say the bloke had been identified and we should go and speak to him. We went, with a driver from the office but on passing the settlement where the camera had been stolen local residents cautioned about approaching the rascal directly, saying we should go to the police station. I had intended to do that after lunch anyway so we went and I submitted a written statement together with the photographs. The police seemed to find it hard to believe (if not hilarious) that stupid waitman had actually handed the camera to the rascol. Nevertheless they took details and said they would detain him when their car came back from its repairs in the workshop, and that we couldn’t use our open back truck from the office for the job.

Thursday morning and Councillor Bunbun seems to be involved in helping now. It seems the police did go with him and arrested the man at gunpoint, ‘interviewed’ him leading to his admitting the theft and to having passed the camera to another who had then sold it to a lawyer in the town.

Friday – called on police for incident number, they told me I needed to go to CID in town centre because of camera’s value. Strange how so many people in the market, on the street and the PMVs both recognise me and ask If I have got the camera back yet.