Stereotypes Confirmed !

The argument in Swahili sparked into life again as the large black guy angrily began taking off his shoes and socks and banged them down on the table alongside his bag. Rob could not help but notice the rapt attention of the four girls as the faded blue football shirt was also pulled off, displaying a tightly muscled back just six feet away from the girls.

Events seemed to have reached a temporary hiatus, during which the officer in charge wandered over to the girls and began laughing and flirting with them. Verity in particular was lapping up the attention and listened intently as the captain bent down to whisper in her ear. She laughed and nodded her head, which caused the captain to bark an order back to his subordinates. This order elicited more shouting and protestations from the black guy but another ominous click from one of the rifles soon led to him stepping out of his cargo pants !

Verity continued to record the activity on her phone as the guy now stood there in just his boxers, which may have said Calvin Klein around the waistband but had almost certainly never seen the inside of a factory connected to that label. "Verity, it's really not appropriate that you're filming this" Rob protested. "Oh dear" the girl replied archly. "He says this is not appropriate" she said to the captain, implying that Rob was criticizing him and not her and that he considered what they were doing with the black guy to be wrong. The captain glared at Rob as Verity whispered to him "Secretly, I think he's a bit of a racist. Some of these Brits still think they've got an empire !"

It had to be said that the locals seemed to be taking all that was happening in their stride. They weren't exactly ignoring what was happening but were looking on with the same stoical resignation that they displayed when waiting for a bus, plane or river ferry. Most of them had passed through to the other side of the barrier by now but they still had a clear view of what was going on. The captain bent to whisper something to Verity again and the blonde's smile became even wider.

The captain called across to the other two guards once more, provoking some murmurs from the locals. This time there was no argument from the black guy but instead a proud defiance, as he quickly peeled his 'Calvin Kleins' down and off ! The four girls clapped their hands over their mouths as the reason for the guy's pride became evident. Rob could not help but be astonished. All the clichés he was aware of about well endowed Africans were borne out as he glimpsed the guy's impressive member. It must have been close to a foot long, or so it seemed to Rob. And the width of the rubber truncheon hanging from the captain's belt !

Verity continued to film. "For goodness sake Verity. Show some respect. Give the poor man some dignity" Rob blurted out. "No, you show me some respect" she rounded on Rob. "It's perfectly ok with the captain and is a valuable document to show correct procedures. The 'poor man' as you call him is probably a criminal anyway !"

Fuming, Rob got up and went to talk with the elderly couple. "Is this kind of thing usual ?" he asked. "It's not unheard of" the woman replied. "But they don't normally make them take their drawers off !" "I fear that's probably due to the presence of your four charges" the man added. "The captain's showing off."