Dar es Salaam. It was the night of October 29, 2025 in the streets of Ubungo. While most residents were asleep and others desperately seeking safety, 14-year-old Patrick Matano was still wandering the roads in search of a place to hide.
“Some people told me, ‘Boy, it’s time, find somewhere to hide.’ It was around 10 p.m.,” says Matano, one of the homeless youths who sleep in makeshift kiosks around Mwenge.
He recalls the distant sound of gunfire cutting through the night.
“When I heard the gunshots, I rushed into abandoned kiosks. I stayed there until it seemed calm, then came out. When the shooting started again, I ran back inside,” he told The Citizen during an interview at Mwenge on November 11, 2025.
Matano says he remained in those kiosks for six consecutive days.
“People would tell me to hide every night around 10 p.m.
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