In Dar as in New York City, death comes for all who touch the purse

Independent consultant and blogger in Dar es Salaam

The CEO of UnitedHealthCare, Brian Thompson, was shot dead in New York City last week. He was heading towards a shareholders’ meeting when a man walked up to him and just straight up shot him point blank.

That man was apprehended in a fast-food restaurant one state over when a worker recognised him from CCTV captures that have been circulated widely online.

His name is Luigi Mangione, some doubt his culpability and — the way things are going — he might just become a bit of a revolutionary icon for the ages.

Members of the public openly celebrated the death of Brian Thompson while his alleged killer got memes, support and thinly veiled admiration.

Watching from the comfort of my country which one American president so graciously called a ‘sh*thole,’ this love for the vigilante is amusingly recognisable.

Just the other week, workers from the Tanzania Revenue Authority got caught by a hostile mob while pursuing a car for... tax purposes.

One of them lost their life as a result of the beating they got at the hands of angry citizens who thought they were responding to a potential kidnapping.

This is what it looks like when the rule of law has broken down and I wonder if the American president-elect and his fellow oligarchs know what is actually happening here.

To be fair, Tanzanian frustrations with the cost of living and the consistent refusal of our ruling class to be their best selves are taken out on the little people.

Here, we prefer to beat thieves who only steal a loaf of bread, a phone, a chicken — skinny young men with nothing to lose other than their lives.

We leave the potbellied class alone to steal public funds with little friction, just like Americans leave their most exploitative capitalists because we share the same dream: “I too shall succeed in this manner, given half a chance to shine!” Or at least, that used to be the case.

Things seem to be changing, with certain individuals willing to turn against the formerly untouchable while the public quietly cheers them on from the safety of the comments section.

Indeed, the lessons of history are plentiful for those who take the time to read, but if you don’t like the narrative format and think that numbers are more ‘credible’ then consider Gini Coefficient.

It measures inequality in a society and can help forecast a phenomenon that shows up without fail in our societies — the revolutions of the poor majority against the hoarder minority.

As the police forces and elites of America and Tanzania apply their monopoly on the use of violence on the culpable to make an example of them, I wonder if the message sent by these acts has disturbed their sleep.

I wonder if they have been “following the money” the way that we the poors have. It’s always such a small thing, isn’t it? A CEO, shot. A taxman, beaten by a mob.

Maybe it is nothing to worry about. Maybe these are just run of the mill criminals. Maybe it can be handled by “rule of law.” Maybe.

Elsie Eyakuze is an independent consultant and blogger forThe Mikocheni Report.