Handeni. \u201cLet me pray first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those were the final words spoken by 28-year-old bodaboda rider Abdallah Chambo before he picked up two passengers his colleagues had already refused to carry over safety concerns.<\/p>\n
Hours later, he was found dead, his throat slit, in a brutal killing that has shocked residents of Handeni District in Tanga Region.<\/p>\n
Abdallah was murdered on the night of May 5, 2026 in Kilole Street, Chanika Ward, after unknowingly accepting passengers whom fellow riders had deemed suspicious.<\/p>\n
His father, Andrea George Chambo, described him as a humble, hardworking young man who was the family\u2019s main breadwinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was peaceful, respectful and loved by everyone. He supported the family greatly despite earning a living through bodaboda work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to the father, relatives initially withheld news of the incident from him out of fear over how he would react.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy around 10pm the information had reached the family, but they delayed telling me because they wanted to protect me first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Andrea said his son had dreams of building a better future for his family. He had planned to formalise his marriage, buy his own motorcycle and eventually build a house.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already had two children and wanted to start a stable family life. Buying his own motorcycle was one of his biggest goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The grieving father urged bodaboda riders to be more cautious when carrying passengers at night.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I was told, those men stayed at the bodaboda stand for a long time. Other riders became suspicious and refused to carry them. My son arrived later and did not know what had happened earlier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cHad they warned him earlier, perhaps he would still be alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the deceased\u2019s close friends, Khalifa Ally, said the group had become suspicious after noticing the men lingering near a closed chips stall in a dark area while speaking in low tones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had already refused to carry them. When Abdallah arrived, he said, \u2018Let me pray first,\u2019 and then left with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The riders became worried after Abdallah failed to return and his phones went unanswered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe split into groups to search for him. Later, we found him dead and his motorcycle missing,\u201d Ally said.<\/p>\n
He described the scene as horrifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had slit his throat and left him there. His head was almost detached from the body. It traumatised all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another rider, Abdallah Andrea, said the suspects had waited for a long time hoping to find transport.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost riders refused to take them after becoming suspicious. When the deceased arrived, he agreed to carry them. They later diverted him into an alley near the mining offices and killed him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Handeni District Bodaboda Secretary Khamis Kidunda, popularly known as Sakatonge, said the incident had deeply shaken riders in the district.<\/p>\n
He warned that many attacks on bodaboda riders occur at night, with criminals often operating in pairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cRiders need more awareness on how to identify suspicious passengers. Many crimes against bodaboda operators involve robbery, assault and murder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He advised riders to question passengers travelling at night and, where necessary, ask for identification.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone appears suspicious, it is better to take them directly to a police station than risk your life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Tanga Regional Police Commander Almachius Mchunguzi, investigations into the killing are ongoing, with police appealing for public cooperation in identifying those responsible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Handeni. \u201cLet me pray first.\u201d Those were the final words spoken by 28-year-old bodaboda rider Abdallah Chambo before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[55],"tags":[115372,8766,26573,3737,152],"class_list":["post-226392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tanzania","tag-abdallah-chambo","tag-bodaboda","tag-handeni","tag-tanga","tag-tanzania"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116544551213737396","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}