It started with one hotel, then another, and then more. Wojciech Żabiński has built a real Polish empire in Zanzibar over the last ten years. Literally Polish, because on the island, Pilanowo (a combination of Pili Pili and Wilanów) grew up on the island, following the example of Warsaw’s Wilanów, Polish flags flew in subsequent hotels, and several dozen Polish employees came to work. Residents also quickly noticed that something Slavic had become possible in the area. Some people started learning Polish, the owner of Pili Pili and his guests ceased to be a local attraction and became an immanent part of the area. And then came the brutal truth, which left the local community overnight without any means of subsistence and with huge debts.
The “King of Zanzibar” had a kingdom glued together with saliva and promises
After watching three episodes of “King of Zanzibar”, it is hard to get the impression that Wojciech Żabiński knew exactly what he was doing. His former employees in the documentary also admit that they are not sure whether they were deliberately deceived. Or maybe “King” was a visionary, but there was no one (e.g. lawyers? Financial controllers?) who could place his visions in any real framework. What resonates weakly throughout the documentary is the loss suffered by the island’s inhabitants. It is hard to sympathize with the employees, who first brag about how great their earnings were for several years, spending the minimum wage thanks to Wojtek’s generosity. It is also hard to sincerely sympathize with the deceived investors, who dreamed of a villa in Zanzibar – probably because few people even think not so much about a villa, but about their own apartment, let alone a villa on an island several thousand kilometers from Poland. Losing several hundred thousand zlotys probably hurts, but let’s be honest – these were certainly not the last available funds of the person who decided to invest them in this way.
Who deserves sympathy, and whose voice is hardly heard until the last part of the document, are the deceived inhabitants who linked their fate with the Pili Pili paradise. They fed Poles, cleaned their apartments, took out their garbage, moved their luggage, welcomed them at the hotel, and took them to the plane. The local community gave Wojtek, his employees and guests one of the most beautiful places on Earth, asking only for fair treatment in return. They were deceived just like the Poles, but in general, with the overwhelming unemployment rate in Zanzibar, it was the Zanzibarians who paid a much greater price for this deception.
Wojciech Zabinski facebook.com/polacynazanzibarze/videos/730380368133468
The pyramid grew and grew until the publication of the Gazeta.pl text
The documentary produced by Magda Szczawińska glides over this problem, focusing on Wojtek’s ingenuity, employee satisfaction, and a fantastic vision of paradise. When the word “pandemic” is mentioned, no one even stutters that the trips organized from Poland at the time were a threat, for example, to people living on the island. At that time, no one cared that there were hidden costs of such behavior and the entire inflated investment. The employees of the King of Zanzibar are of course happy that they did not have to make a revolution during the pandemic, because their workplace continued to operate. Such “cleverness” is actually the leitmotif of everything that happened on the island, but it does not apply exclusively to Wojtek himself.
“We were earning fantastic money, we were working in heaven, money was pouring from the sky,” his employees say, as if forgetting for a moment that according to the rules of Polish mentality: if something is too good, it is definitely suspicious. When questions start to arise about where the money will come from to finance the next investments, Wojtek’s “good talk” is enough to dispel the doubts. Everyone covered their eyes, no one wanted to seriously deal with the obvious problem. And the pyramid grew and grew.
It burst when informants and investors contacted editors Marcin Kozłowski and Mikołaj Fidziński from Gazeta.pl, concerned about the state of one of the promised investments. Żabiński offered Poles to build cottages on the island, which would be sublet to tourists. In the following months, hotel complexes suspended their operations, and employees learned from one day to the next that they had no jobs. For the description alone of the chaos that reigned in the Polish Pili Pili at that time, it is worth watching the documentary on the Max platform. As well as to see for yourself what ultimately happened to Wojciech Żabiński – and why this is a story as old as the world, in which the clever one wins.
‘King of Zanzibar’ Photo: Max
“Detective Rutkowski
What is particularly striking in “King of Zanzibar” is the issue of one of the experts selected for the documentary. The materials are spoken by none other than the chief celebrity Krzysztof Rutkowski. Signed as “detective”, he gives the impression of an expert, an expert on the subject of Wojciech Żabiński. I have no doubt that his agency was indeed contacted by injured parties asking for help. The problem is that the reliability of a production such as the documentary requires a real expert to act as the expert. Although Rutkowski is associated with a detective agency, entered in the register of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, he himself does not have a detective license – he lost it in 2010.
The document also does not contain a single statement by any lawyer, accountant, or expert on – really – anything, who could, for example, explain on what basis, without any financial guarantees, using money from future trips to pay off arrears, the King of Zanzibar managed to operate without obstacles for so many years. There are only guesses as to the principles on which he operates today. Whether the document should be a place for speculation or for answering specific questions – I leave that for a separate assessment.
‘King of Zanzibar’ Photo Max
The three episodes about the collapse of the empire keep the pace decently, and the stories of Pili Pili’s former employees read like fairy tales about people who won the lottery and then everything went to hell. They worked on one of the most beautiful islands, where they could also use the infrastructure they took care of to some extent, saving the money they earned there. “He paid better than others,” they say about Wojtek. It is also a story about a completely absent state, incapable of meaningful actions that go beyond exchanging e-mails. It is also a story about the height of insolence and acting out of style. There is also a short story about the fact that an employee should not contribute to the employer’s business because it is not his responsibility. And finally, also about the fact that if something looks too beautiful, if you scratch it a little, it will probably turn out to be moldy underneath.
Since most of you will probably never be in danger of investing in Zanzibar or another paradise island in the future, watch “The King of Zanzibar” as a warning. After the screening, you will take a closer look at the extremely attractive offers, numerous discounts and the lack of negative comments. Somewhere in the thicket of numbers, promotions, sales and unique opportunities, there may be a catch that will spoil more than just your holiday.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
