tanzania police vs. malawi police

we spent a great deal of our trip getting to know the local police, and thus we feel like we can offer this authoritative comparison between the police of malawi and tanzania. since we didn't get any pictures of either, you will have to put up with random shots of other sights along the way.

1. uniform:

tanzania police: 5/5. You would think completely white uniforms with a white overcoat and white gloves would be impossible to keep clean in africa. you would be wrong. tanzania police have this covered.

malawi police: 2/5. standard khaki uniform, nothing special but an extra point for the ones that had a michael-jackson-style-one-white-glove to flag us down.

winner: tanzania police.

2. speeding enforcement:

tanzania police: 0/5. every single tanzanian police from the chief down to the guys who guard the barracks are issued with a speed gun. and they use them at every chance they can get. aided by ridiculous 50kph signs every 5km.

malawi police: 5/5. as the immigration guy when we entered malawi said, 'speed guns? what for?'

winner: malawi police, hands down.

3. google search:

tanzania police: 5/5. a search for 'tanzania police love speed guns' yields an overwhelming10,400,000 results.

malawi police: 1/5. a search for 'malawi police have boring uniforms' yields a paltry 269,000 results.

winner: tanzania police. i think.

4. conversational skills:

tanzania police: 1/5. heres a sample:
policeman: hello.
musa: hello.
policeman: turn on your headlights so i can check them.
musa: ok.
policeman: how about your left indicator.
musa: there.
policeman: right indicator
musa: done
policeman: brake lights.
policeman: reverse lights.
policeman: windshield wiper
policeman: show me your fire extinguisher, driving licence, insurance and 2 emergency triangles.
policeman: and also your first aid kit.
musa: there you go.
policeman: let me check the charge on your extinguisher.
policeman: AHA! whats this CRACK on the windshield (indicating 2millimeter long crack). thats a FINE!!! hahahahahaha.

the 1 point was for a quite friendly policewoman who expressed shock that we were planning to go all the way to zambia in our little car, gave sandi some advice on how many children she thought we should have (3) and then flagged us down on our way back home to check if we had started following her advice.

malawi police: 5/5. sample:
policeman: hello.
musa: hello
policeman: welcome to the warm heart of africa. where are you from?
musa: kenya
policeman: we are happy to have you here. have a safe trip. drive carefully. remember, this is the warm heart of africa.
musa: but wait, i have my fire extinguisher ready to show you...

winner: malawi police. unquestionably.

summary:
if you have been keeping score, you might notice that the malawi police edge this particular battle 13 points to 11.

next post normal services will resume as we travel down to lilongwe, and then on to zambia.