Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Hollywood to portray Kenya's "Pirate Whisperer"
Sat Jun 6, 2009 2:26pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Alison Bevege
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - When agents for Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson came looking for Andrew Mwangura in Kenya, he could not meet them -- he was on the run.
The man they call the "Pirate Whisperer" was dodging both local authorities and well-connected criminals who were chasing him for exposing the international links of a wave of hijackings afflicting the busy international shipping routes off Somalia.
"I said I was in trouble, come back again when the coast is clear," Mwangura told Reuters in an interview at Mombasa port.
Tinseltown plans to make an action movie about the piracy scourge. Jackson is to play Mwangura -- the quiet 47-year-old founder of the non-profit East African Seafarers' Assistance Program with seemingly unrivalled contacts with maritime groups, ships, ports and even pirates around east Africa.
Himself a former seaman, Mwangura breaks news time and time again on seizures and releases of ships by Somali pirates, revealing details of ransom payments in what has become a multimillion dollar business.
He is a hero to seamen, but a pain for the pirates' financiers, said to be sitting in Nairobi, Dubai and London, managing the business by calls to the gangs' satellite phones. There are strong suspicions that officials in the region could be involved, and Mwangura has not been shy of saying that.
FILM RIGHTS
Now Jackson and filmmaker Andras Hamori have secured the rights to his life story -- but getting a chance to sit down and talk scripts has been more difficult than expected.
Mwangura fell foul of the Kenyan government last year after the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks, was hijacked en route to Mombasa. Mwangura said the consignment was really for south Sudan -- and not Kenya, as officially claimed.
In October, on his way to a talk-show where he was due to speak to the relatives of the Russian and Ukrainian crew, Mwangura was arrested.
"They were waiting for me in Moscow and Kiev on camera. But I was taken to police headquarters for interrogation."
Mwangura spent nine days in jail. One frightening night, he said he was woken by security agents who wanted to take him out of the prison for reasons unknown.
"I think maybe they wanted to harm me," he said.
His cellmates joined hands to prevent the guards from taking him, and he was left in jail.
Mwangura was charged with making alarming statements to foreign media and for possessing $2 worth of marijuana. The government called him a frontman and spokesman for the pirates. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Guns and drugs? Some rappers inflate hustler image
Also on Reuters
Recovery timing and jobs key for 2010 U.S. vote
Fans gather for launch of "iPhone killer" Palm Pre
For U.S. auto sales, a long hangover awaits
More Entertainment News
Carradine mystery deepens, family seeks FBI help
Universal Pictures calls "Bruno" suit frivolous
Woodstock rarities unearthed on boxed set
Guns and drugs? Some rappers inflate hustler image
Elton John, Dolly Parton to perform at Tonys
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Mystery surrounds "Kung Fu" actor's death | Video
Ex-U.S. State official, wife face Cuba spy charges
Bodies, debris retrieved from Air France crash | Video
Fans gather for launch of "iPhone killer" Palm Pre | Video
Universal Pictures calls "Bruno" suit frivolous
Airbus noted speed data problems before crash
Carradine mystery deepens, family seeks FBI help
UPDATE 4-Brazil crews struggle to gather plane wreckage
UPDATE 2-Fans gather for launch of 'iPhone killer' Palm Pre
Busy Obama says his picnicking days are over
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Mummies found in Peru
Obama raps Ahmadinejad
Drought-hit India's frog wedding
Uninsured in America
Peru baby's big tumour op
Berlusconi blasts nude party pics
British navy sinks pirate boat
Obama remembers Holocaust victims
IATA: Air France crash "tragedy"
No gas for this air-powered car
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.