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A funny yet terrifying incident took place back in 1937 when an armed gang, or at least that was the people thought at the time, kept robbing houses. People used to hear gunshots at night and immediately lock their doors and windows and stay up all night to resist the robbers in case they were attacked by the gang that used to rob a different neighborhood every night.



People were terrified for a whole week, and news about the gang of robbers traveled fast as people kept telling stories about how the robbers robbed the so and so family in Merqab or climbed the walls of another in Qebla. People were in great distress and fear.



The security chief at the time was Sheikh Sabah Al-Duaij Al-Sabah who was publically known as 'Sabah Al-Souk' (Sabah of the Market). The man suspected his own guards and accordingly examined their rifles by an expert to see whether any had been used in recent shootings during the night. They were all proven innocent, but Sabah eventually managed to identify and arrest the gang.



It turned out that the gang comprised of a young man named 'Mahdali' who had an old shotgun and was assisted by another,  a porter to carry the items he stole. They were both arrested and chained by the hands to be taken on a tour around the old souk so that people could see them and rest assured. Kids chassed the suspects lane to lane shouting: "That is the thief, Mahdali.....he is chained by the hand." Accordingly, like Kuwaitis used to name years after major incidents, 1937 was later known as the 'Year of Mahdali.' - Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa



By Dr Saleh Al-Ojairi