This post is about several incidents that have happened over the 1 year we have lived in Lusaka, Zambia. We were telling this story to one of our friends, and he suggested this would be a good blog.
Our first traffic stop occured only minutes from our house on our way home from Livingstone back in January. We did not see the woman waving us down until the last minute, and we were pretty sure we were not speeding (if we were, it was only a few km), so we paid the fine. In Zambia, the police set up speed traps where they stand on the side of the road and shoot an ancient radar gun, and then if they suspect you are speeding, they step out into traffic and hold up their hand to wave you down to pull over. Not sure what they would do if you just kept on going, perhaps get your license tag. Anyway, this was our first experience of getting pulled over (and Ricky was driving). Since that day in January, I (Niki), have been pulled twice, and Ricky has been pulled four times.
I was going to Chongwe with the kids one day, and I had just told the kids that there may be some police up the road where they usually sit, so I was watching my speed very carefully. Lo and behold, the woman steps out in front of me and motions for me to pull over. I did so, and waited in the car. No one came, and I kept wondering what they were waiting on. Finally I see them waving me to get out and come to them, which was across the highway. I did as I was told, and began talking with the officer. First, we did the normal greetings (How are you? I'm fine. How are you?) Then, he wants to know who I am and what I do here in Lusaka. I'm driving a BMOZ vehicle, so that was obvious that I am a missionary. Anyway, I explain to him that I was NOT speeding, and that I knew they were sitting there. This goes on back and forth for a while, and then finally I convinced him that I was being honest, and so he let me go.
The next time that I got pulled, Ricky got pulled also - that's because he was following ME! We pulled over, unsure what speed we were going, and one officer began talking to Ricky while another came over to my vehicle. We were both in BMOZ vehicles as we were taking one of the trucks to the shop for fixing. The officer who was talking to me said I needed to pay her 70,000 kwacha, and since I didn't have that much money with me, I asked her if I could walk over to my husband's vehicle to get some money from him. She laughed, and told me to wait there. In the meantime, another officer was telling Ricky he owed 70,000 kwacha, and when he explained that we were together, the two officers got together and decided they would only charge us one fee of 70,000 kwacha. Yeah, a 2 for 1 special!
The other 2 times that Ricky has been pulled, he knew they were there and he was watching his speed. Now how dangerous is that to be constantly watching your speedometer? They want to charge you even if you are going 1 km over the speed limit. This time when Ricky was pulled, he remained inside the vehicle waiting for the officer to come to the window. Finally, they came and told him he was supposed to get out of the car. Ricky explained that in our country, it's not safe to get out of your car when stopped for police. The officer said he was admitting his guilt when he didn't get out of the car to run over to the radar and check his speed. Go figure! Anyway, Ricky wasn't so lucky this time convincing the officer that he was not speeding, even though one of our workers was riding with him and verified that he was going 10km UNDER the speed limit because someone had flashed their lights warning him they were there. The officer would not give in, so Ricky had to pay the fine anway.
Our worker who was riding with Ricky stated that the police pulled him over because he was white. They knew they could get money from him. We have heard many stories of friends getting pulled over for no good reason, and most of the time they end up paying the fine to get out of an argument. One friend told me she didn't have any money once when she was pulled, and they let her go to the ATM, but when she returned to pay them, they were gone. Ha!
*By the way, this picture was taken from Google Images. I did not take a picture of the police officers.*
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