The newspaper’s edition of April 1, 1974 wrote, “The police commissioner of an African nation visiting St Thomas for three days this week found little of the type of crime that makes up most of his time in his homeland”. The African police commissioner had told his American hosts that the major crimes in his country are cattle theft, poaching and diamond smuggling, none of which are common entries on Virgin Islands police blotters. The African police chief was also taken to Nevada, Las Vegas where he was keen to learn about how authorities handled problems that might accompany legalised gambling since his country had no gambling casinos.
I set out to find this African police commissioner and it took me six weeks to finally sit down with him. Every time we were supposed to meet he would either be taking his ailing wife to the doctor or he would be going to attend a meeting somewhere. I arrive at his home in Mogoditshane mid-morning and find him enjoying the breeze by the veranda. He is not impressed. I am 45 minutes late. “You should thank your ancestors that you found me still waiting for you. I still do things the Police way. Respect for time is one of the things I still practise”, he scolds me. I apologise profusely. He accepts my apology and his smile settles me. He will be clocking 81 years of age this year on the July 17, but he looks nothing closer to that age. He is still as fit as a fiddle.
