Paradise island Briton shot
A British businessman was shot dead by robbers who used a boat to invade his beachfront home in Zanzibar, a diplomat said today.
Antony Griplas, 42, died after being shot twice in the abdomen when at least 10 attackers raided the house. Two suspects have been arrested.
Mr Griplas ran a company chartering traditional dhow sail boats to tourists. He had lived in Zanzibar, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean off mainland Tanzania, East Africa, since 1997 with his wife and two young children.
The robbers used a boat to approach the house under cover of darkness before disabling security lights, telephone lines and breaking into the house.
"This is a very sad case because it is so rare for something like this to happen on Zanzibar," said a senior British diplomat who flew to the island to investigate.
Mr Griplas' two children were at home at the time of the attack on Sunday night in Chukwani, on the west coast of Zanzibar's main island, he said. He also confirmed reports that some of the attackers were dressed in military-style uniforms.
The murder weapon was a pistol, he said, and one of the bullets may have punctured Mr Griplas's lungs.
Mrs Griplas had tried to stop the robbers killing her husband, offering them anything they wanted in the house, according to one local report.
About 300 people attended a funeral service for Mr Griplas yesterday.
"It was very touching," the British diplomat said. "His body was carried by some of his staff, all wearing company T-shirts."
Mr Griplas's wife and children are still on the island.
Residents said the killing had sparked fears among the close-knit expatriate community in Zanzibar, where armed robberiesare rare. Regional police commander-George Kizuguto told the Tanzanian state-run Daily News newspaper that two suspects had been arrested.
Mr Griplas had about 60 local employees, and the robbers are believed to have escaped with money thought to be staff salaries. They fled by boat to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital, the same night.
Zanzibar, a collection of semiautonomous isles, lies about 50 miles off the coast.
The British diplomat said he held meetings on Zanzibar with the police, tourism officials and officials from Tanzania's ministry of foreign affairs.
Zanzibar's largely Islamic islands, famous for their white beaches and clear blue seas, have long been popular with Western visitors.
However, tourist arrivals have dropped since terrorist bombings in Dar es Salaam in 1998 and near Mombasa, in neighbouring Kenya, a year ago.
