The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Capercaillie got aid worker through ordeal
A SCOTTISH charity worker has told of the terrifying moment he was robbed at gunpoint in Africa.
John Littlejohn, of Turriff , said a Capercaillie album kept him going through the 25-minute ordeal.
The 63-year-old was sitting around the dinner table with other project workers when masked raiders came into the room.
They were threatened with machetes and clubs at their lodge in Malawi where they were staying while working on a village water project.
John, who has now returned home, said it was a “scary” experience but added that he was determined not to let it colour his impression of the country.
The retired Scottish Water manager said: “When the first couple of them charged through the door with masks on, one carrying a gun and one carrying a machete, you very quickly realised something was not right.
“The rest of us were tied up. I was told later they used electric cable.
“At first I wondered if it was all real, but the machetes and clubs were real.
“And when someone points a gun at you, cocks it and tells you to get down on the ground, you get down on the ground.
“They got on with it, trying to find as much money as they could.
“The whole thing lasted 25 minutes.
“I know because a CD was playing, Capercaillie, and I was counting the tracks as all this was going on.”
The father-of-two had his camera, mobile phone and pyjama jacket stolen in the raid on October 11.
But he said the experience was worse for his wife Ada, and daughters, Fiona and Anne, who were worried about him at home in Scotland.
He added: “I can’t deny it was scary but it could have lasted an awful lot longer and they could have had more sinister motives than they had.
“Malawi is termed the warm heart of Africa and, bar that half hour, it was.
“I am determined that the incident is not going to colour what was a very nice country and a worthwhile cause.”