Hon Balimwezo loses Mpenkoni to pirates

Hon Balimwezo Ronald Nsubuga the MP for Nakawa East is in tears. The Drone Media can exclusively report that the honorable member of Parliament in the 11th parliament, reportedly lost his Mpenkoni car he had imported on the internet.

In a bid to save money, Balimwezo lost it. He reportedly opted to import the latest of Landcruiser VX series right from Japan, which he successfully procured and the car was placed on the ship.

Unfortunately, Balimwezo’s car did not reach Mombasa Port. The pirates reportedly dealt with it on its way to Mombasa.  How they did, you never know! The reality is that the car disappeared in thin air.

Some people joked that may be Balimwezo’s political enemies got opportunity to revenge.

However, reports about piracy for years are amazing! According to Statista Publication,  in 2021, there was a decrease of pirate attacks against ships worldwide compared with the previous year. While 195 ships were attacked by pirates in 2020, the number of ships attacked dropped to 132 in 2021.

Pirate attacks

Although the term “pirate” may conjure up images of bearded men with eye patches, wooden legs and parrots who were convicted and buried centuries ago, pirate attacks are indeed posing a threat to today’s shipping lines all over the world.

Contemporary maritime piracy reached its peak level in 2010, with around 445 reported incidents. The regions most likely to come under threat from pirate attacks include Indonesia, the Malaysia, and Nigeria. Here, pirates are attracted by the abundance of natural resources in the countries themselves or in adjacent areas. Strategic passages for oil transport such as Bab-el-Mandeb, near Somalia, or the Strait of Malacca off the Indonesian coast have become notorious targets for maritime crime.

In 2013, oil tankers shipped 15.2 million barrels of oil per day through the Strait of Malacca; this exceeds the daily volume of oil imported into the whole of the European Union. With oil prices hovering around 70 U.S. dollars per barrel in 2018, the hijacking of a crude oil tanker sounds like a promising deal for pirates. In 2017, Venezuela was thrust into the limelight: Here, the number of incidents rose from five to 12 between 2016 and 2017.

It is often the crew and the pirates themselves who pay most dearly for maritime crime. In Somali waters, at least 149 crew members were held hostage in 2011, and over 100 pirates were killed – mostly by naval forces such as armed guards, who are increasingly seen to be of central importance to the protection of merchant ships.