Stolen car? - police in action

Against my plan I was some minutes late to reach the meeting called by UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), but traffick was slow as I approached the Sanctuary.  The "Sanctuary" is a wildlife sanctuary in the forest area between Old Town of Lilongwe and City Centre.  I soon realised why traffick was held up.  A police checkpoint had been established, and cars were pulled over for inspection.  This is a normal experience along this stretch.  Overloaded minibuses that serve as the main means of public transportation in the city are particularly susceptible for controls.

Not particularly stressed, but eager to reach to my appointment, I saw to my dismay a white glove raised in front of me.  The glove on the other police hand guided me to the left, out of the road.  Further delay!  Automatically I prepared for reaching into my pocket for my driver's licence (yes, I have gone through the process of obtaining a Malawi driver's licence - and I will tell you more about it).  As I wound down the window, the police officer came over and looked at a small sticker on the windscreen and did not ask for my driver's licence.  He explained that he was reading the chassis-number. He took it down and disappeared for less than a minute.  On his return he ordered me to "shut down the engine".  "Sir, you are driving a stolen car!"

This message was not entirely surprising to  me, which I will explain.  What was surprising to me, was however that they had the entire vehicle register on-line at the check-point.  This was another proof that the Malawi Roads Authorities are fairly advanced.

Any dealing with the roads authorities requires an initial registration and issuing of a traffick-ID.  The process includes bio-metric registration, and at every step of the process of obtaining the driver's licence I had to produce my thumb for identification.  Information was automatically entered the computerized system, and after having gone through the data-based 40-question theory test and paid my dues, it only took five minutes to have my driver's licence coming out of the machine!  This is a proof that modern technology can work very well in Malawi... as well as in Norway!

Let me not be derailed from my check-point story... A senior detective entered the left front seat and asked me to take her to the police station in Area 3.  Well arrived at the police station, I had to make a statement, and the police impounded the car.  As mentioned, I was not surprised by the message about the stolen car.  The car had been imported from South Africa, and cleared by Interpol as "has not been reported stolen".  After two years in NCA possession, a claim came from South Africa that the car had been stolen "two months ago".  Time-wise this was a clear contradiction, but the "stolen" claim
entered the register, and I was stuck.

The detectives, including the inspector, were polite and correct, but they could not release the vehicle until the case had been properly investigated.  A court release-order is needed, and our lawyer had to be engaged in the matter.

As I write, the car is still at the police station, awaiting an appeal for an injunction by our lawyer.  Hopefully, sometime Monday I will have the NN424 back on the road... at least temporarily!