The following account was provided by the survivor of the attempted abduction that took place on May 20, 2026, in the Bunju area. The incident involved David Djumbe, the personal assistant to jailed Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Allan Macha who accompanied Djumbe, recounted his story at the CHADEMA headquarters in the morning of May 21, 2026, while David Djumbe was recorded when he arrived at his home the same morning.
Allan Macha
My name is Alan Macha. I am a neighbor and friend of Mr. David Djumbe. What I am recounting here is an incident that happened to us yesterday [May 20, 2026] after I had finished my usual daily activities and was returning home.
First, Mr. David Djumbe, who is my neighbor and friend, and I had not seen each other for a long time due to the uncertainty surrounding his safety in our country. Fortunately, yesterday, as I was about to leave my office and head home, he called me and informed me that he was at a garage where his car was being repaired, so I could pick him up since I had a car, and we could return home together because we live in the same neighborhood.
After picking him up, we headed home together. At around 10:05 p.m, as we got close to his home, about 20 or 25 meters from his house and the location where the incident occurred, we noticed a car following us from behind at very high speed, escorted by two motorcycles. Because I had asked him to drive after meeting him at the garage, due to my back pain. I asked him, ‘Do you see how fast that car is coming?’ He replied, ‘I also don’t understand it. Considering how bad the road is, that speed is unusual.’ I told him, ‘Then let it pass.’
When he moved slightly to the left to allow the car to pass, it blocked us for the first time. He continued moving forward and squeezed further to the left, but it blocked us again the second time. He then had to accelerate and drive toward an open area where brick-making and construction-material businesses operate because there was space there.
That car completely blocked us. The vehicle that blocked us was a Toyota Probox. I could not quickly read the full plate number, but it ended with the letters ‘EBE.’ About six or more people got out. Since we had not locked our car doors, they quickly opened our doors and identified themselves as police officers, saying we were under arrest.
What they were doing looked like something out of a mafia-style kidnapping movie. While they were saying we were under arrest, Mr. David Djumbe quickly asked, ‘Under arrest for what offense?’ I also asked, ‘What is our offense?’
Abduction
As soon as he asked that question, more than four men surrounded him and struggled to pull him out from the driver’s seat so they could force him into the Probox. At the same time, others had already grabbed me and wanted to force me into the Probox as well. I held on tightly while screaming and shouting loudly because we were close to home, yelling, ‘Kidnappers! Kidnappers! Thieves! Thieves!’ hoping that we would get help.
Fortunately, while I was shouting, some motorcycle taxi riders (bodaboda) appeared. Some were taking people home, while others were returning after dropping off passengers. They witnessed the incident, and when the kidnappers—or those who identified themselves as police officers, saw people approaching, they forced him into the Probox while others got into my car. My car then became the lead vehicle in their convoy as they sped away.
Since the bodaboda riders had already arrived and we had made a lot of noise, they started chasing the vehicles. While I was crying for help, I managed to keep my phone with me. I have a friend near Mingoi who owns a small pub, a grocery there. Often after leaving the office, I stop by there briefly before going home.
I called him and explained the situation because he knows my car. I told him that we have been abducted, that they had driven off with my car, and that they had also taken my neighbor, Djumbe, who was with me in the vehicle. I asked him if they could set up a barrier so that when the vehicles arrived there, we could know who these people really were.
Because I quickly spread the information, and many bodaboda riders in that area know me, and because there were bodaboda riders at the grocery shop while I was speaking to him, many people quickly organized themselves together with the riders and set up a barrier made of rubble sacks and benches.
Meanwhile, I got onto a motorcycle with one of the bodaboda riders who had witnessed the commotion during the incident. We then chased after my car, which was ahead, while their Probox followed behind it.
At that point, I was already in panic. All I wanted was to block my car, even though we were only on motorcycles. We overtook the Probox in which he was being held. The speed those vehicles were traveling at was unbelievable. I myself have owned that car for more than six years, but I had never imagined it could move that fast.
People who were on the road returning home saw the vehicles speeding by and moved aside, realizing that something unusual was happening. We chased the vehicles all the way to the barrier, where they finally slowed down. I kept shouting loudly, ‘Kidnappers! Kidnappers! They have taken Djumbe and they have my car!’ Since people could see me shouting and recognized my car, they understood that the incident was real, and I drew even more people and bodaboda riders from the Mingoi motorcycle stand into the chase.
When the abductors saw that more and more people were gathering, they rammed through the barrier and continued driving. The chase with the bodaboda riders pursuing them continued until we passed Bunju. As we approached Bunju, there was a tractor on the road returning at little after 10:10 p.m or so, the bodaboda riders could no longer continue at the same speed, but the abductors swerved to the left and kept going at that same high speed.
Fortunately, the friend I had called to report that we had been abducted and that my car had been taken, the owner of the grocery shop, is a army official. He told me on the phone, ‘I have taken a motorcycle and I am following them, so you keep coming.’ I then asked the bodaboda riders not to stop supporting us so that we could continue the chase and see whether they would enter a police station, so we could know whether they were truly police officers and understand what was happening before I could make a report.
Surprisingly, when they reached the area near Boko Magengeni, they entered the road leading toward Mbweni at extremely high speed, and many people witnessed the incident. Later, when they realized more bodaboda riders were joining the chase, they turned around and came back onto the same road as if they were returning the way they had entered. When they reached an area near a bar called Mashati, they fired about two gunshots into the air to scare people away. However, the bodaboda riders still continued.
They then reached the main road ahead and entered directly onto the road leading straight toward Mbweni, near the forest of security intelligence. When they got to the barrier on that road, because the road has a checkpoint barrier, they no longer drove at the same speed. They slowed down, then later switched off the vehicles and parked.
They all got out of the vehicle and fired many bullets toward the area where the bodaboda riders were pursuing them. Because of that, many bodaboda riders and nearby people saw the chaos and we started running back in panic. Those who could turn around did so on their motorcycles, while others fled on foot.
Information to the Police
Later, the bodaboda riders said we should not keep running, because after they fired the shots, they had reached a point where they stopped. However, that area is an area by intelligence security and had a barrier, so the bodaboda riders did not dare enter. The gunfire situation caused further fear among people, making them reluctant to approach.
After the shooting incident calmed down, some bodaboda riders discussed what to do. One bodaboda rider who had the number of an OCD (Officer Commanding District) called him and explained the situation he had witnessed. He told him that the person involved in the vehicle that had been taken was there and should be listened to. I did not know the OCD was from which district, but I explained the situation as it was and he listened, then told me “okay.”
While we were still there, some relatives had already received information about what had happened. I started receiving phone calls telling if I had managed to escape, I should go back home . However, I consult with one of my eleder, whether I should go home without reporting to the police. He told me that reporting to the police was the most important step.
So I left that place, because the scene of the incident and Mbweni Police Station are nearby. We went to Mbweni Police Station and found four police officers: two sitting outside with weapons, one at the counter, and another who listened to us. He was wearing a traditional Maasai-style cloth over his shoulders. He listened to us but said he first needed to contact his superiors, and he made many phone calls.
At that time, I was trying to think of where I could get quick assistance to reach help. So I informed any friend I had who I thought might be in any national security institution. I cannot mention names, but I informed more than four or five people. One of them told me that if I had already left, I should stop pursuing the matter and just go back home.
However, after I went to the police station and gave my explanation, we were told to wait because they had been instructed not to open a case (RB) or take statements yet. We sat there together with the soldier who had helped me set up a barrier and chase the vehicle using a motorcycle. After about 20 minutes, we were still not called to give statements.
He then went and asked them whether, if they were unable to get assistance, he could request help elsewhere, since he was a soldier. They told him since he is a fellow officer, he understood police protocols. They told him that if such an incident happens in the Mapinga or Kibaha area, it should be reported in Kibaha. But since we had already explained the situation and they had contacted their superiors, the information had already been linked. They advised us to return to Mapinga Police Station for proper reporting. By the time we left Mbweni Police Station, about two hours had passed since the incident.
So from Mbweni to Mapinga Police Station it was almost 1 AM. When we arrived at Mapinga Police Station, I gave a briefing of what had happened. I found a female officer there, I remember her number was WP5808. She listened and told me, “You cannot say that three people who tried to overpower you, did not succeed, and only manage to leave with you and your neighbor, taking the vehicle.”
She continued suggesting there might be some debt or issue involved. I told her I had no debt with anyone and there was no business dispute that could explain such a situation.
She asked what my friend did for a living. I explained that he was a businessman and also a politician. She told me she needed to consult her superiors. She made several phone calls, and I spoke with one officer whose name appeared on her phone as Officer Amina. Later she said I should hand the phone back to the officer so they could speak.
After that she called the Regional Crime Officer (RCO) for the Coast Region. The conversation with the RCO happened around 1 AM or close to 2 AM.
The RCO asked me for my personal details: my full name, occupation, which company I own, what I know about my neighbor, what he does, and which political party he belongs to. After I explained, he said those were activists.
After that, I asked him what I should do. He told me to listen carefully to his instructions. He said the official information he had was that my car had been abandoned in Mbweni and he had instructed that it be taken to Mbweni Police Station. He told me I should go the next morning to collect my car.
I told him that inside the car I had a laptop containing everything for my company, all company records, and also cash in a bag. He asked how much money, and I told him about 870,000 Tanzanian shillings.
He then said he could not guarantee the safety of those items because he had not inspected the vehicle himself. I asked whether at Mbweni Police Station I would be required to give oral statements or written statements, and whether there would be a case file (RB), or whom I would meet. He told me I should be informed when I arrived and should call him, that I should take his number from the officer before going in the morning.
After receiving that information, I requested those who had assisted me to take me home. When I arrived home, I found there was already panic. The family of Djumbe was in confusion, my own family was also in confusion. We agreed that since Djumbe is a member of CHADEMA, the matter should also be reported to the party headquarters for further investigation.
In the morning, we came to the party offices. While we were there, the Deputy Secretary General told me he had received information from the family I had left at home that Mr. Djumbe had been found, but his condition was bad and he was in handcuffs. While he was explaining this to me, we then saw police officers arriving.
Djumbe recounts
It was just before 10PM, I had left my activities and was returning home with my neighbor, a friend, using his car. I was driving while he sat on the passenger side. When we were just one plot away from my home, a vehicle overtook me quickly on the right and blocked me in front. Another vehicle blocked me from behind. Several people got out, about five or six.
They opened my door and pulled out the man who was sitting on the other side, and they forcefully took me. I immediately realized I was being kidnapped and started resisting, shouting “kidnappers! kidnappers! kidnappers!”
I tried to fight them, throwing punches and struggling, but they were many and overpowered me. They threw me into the back of the vehicle and handcuffed me as you can see. They tightened these handcuffs and continued beating me. The blood you see here came from being struck on the head with gun butts while they said this was my last day.
I tried to resist, but because I was already handcuffed, it was difficult. While we were moving, the road from my home to the tarmac is very rough, and the vehicle was moving fast and shaking heavily. The handcuffs tightened a lot, and I felt like my arms were going to break. As you can see, they were very tight.
I became weak and unable to resist further. But I gained some strength after realizing they were discussing that bodaboda riders were following them and increasing in number.
They put me in the boot of a Probox vehicle. I tried to unlock the first and second locks, but I could not open them because I was handcuffed. They were also stepping on me.
When they saw the bodaboda riders were following closely, they were discussion on whether to head to the Mbweni Police Station, but another person said no, the boss had said this case should not go to the police. He should be taken to the boss to be finished off today.
However, because they were being pursued, they ended up reaching the forest area near Mbweni, an area owned by Intelligence Security. I sensed that when they arrived there, they thought they had an opportunity to deal with the bodaboda riders.
They all got out and started firing gunshots. I heard them saying “shoot them, shoot the bodaboda riders so they stop following us.” They all left the vehicle believing I was still in the boot and unable to move because I was handcuffed.
When I saw they had all moved to one side of the vehicle, I quickly shifted to the middle seat, reached the lock and unlocked it, and escaped to the other side into the forest. They only realized when they returned to the vehicle that I had already entered the forest, and they started chasing me while shooting. The forest was too dense for them to follow.
I crawled through the thorns that my trousers got stuck in thorns and I had to leave them there because I was still handcuffed. I crawled in the thorns for about an hour and a half before I managed to get out on the other side.I thank God that I am now safe after escaping those killers.
I did not have a wallet, but I had about 700,000 shillings. My wallet was not with me. They took all the money. When I was being beaten and handcuffed, one of them reached into my pocket and took it.
I had that money because my car was at a garage and I was planning to pay the mechanics once they finished repairs. The person who took it was the one hitting me with the gun butt on my head. He was a dark-skinned man with a Zanzibari accent, and he appeared to be the leader of the group.
