The Sunday Mail
I couldn’t help but feel pity when I saw a woman, who looked 40, weep uncontrollably on a pavement in central Harare one wet afternoon.
Apparently she had lost her handbag, identity documents, bank cards and ailing husband’s salary to confidence tricksters who had “offered” her a job.
“If I knew they would hurt me this way, I don’t think I would have entertained them. The well-spoken women asked me to help them pack clothes in a new baby shop they said they were opening and asked to take my handbag for safekeeping. They had promised me US$250 and I thought I had hit a jackpot.
“However, the moment I handed it over to them, that is the last time I saw them. What will I say to my husband? How will I get home? Is this the best way to begin the year?” the woman said in-between sobs.
The small crowd that had gathered felt pity for her, too, but there were some who were bold enough to rebuke her for falling for an age-old trick.
“Easy come, easy go. Watambwa Harare. You must always be content with what you have. You are lucky you were not raped. Never entertain strangers,” shouted a vendor who was selling her wares near the place the woman had been duped.
But she was not the only one in this predicament.
Three other women were similarly tricked in the same vicinity and were sharing their unpleasant experiences.
Welcome to Harare, the city that never sleeps and where a single error in judgement can leave you in a lurch. It is not unusual to find people of various shapes, sizes and hue agonising after being offered non-existent jobs by confidence tricksters who appear always ready to pounce on “Johnnies come to town”, which is a derogatory reference to people who are not conversant with town life.
Schoolchildren, maids, gardeners and some not-so-content housewives have fallen for this trick, which has seen them lose cash, laptops, cellphones and even groceries.
All the crooks do is offer someone a huge reward for a menial task before asking to take their valuables for safekeeping.
Largely on the receiving end are characters who are out to make quick buck and those who are hell-bent on cutting corners.
During this time when people are in the middle of the cropping season, unsuspecting farmers are lured with offers for cheap fertilisers, seed and implements.
While most victims are dumped in the city, some are given uncertified seed that never germinates and useless agrochemicals.
A friend once complained that he was sold about 100 reject chicks, which just could not grow despite chowing feed like crazy.
“I learnt life the hard way. I no longer cut corners. The chicks I bought from the blokes had poor food conversion efficiency and they would not grow no matter the quality of feed I gave them. I later left them to die, but I had lost a fortune. Time is money.
“People must learn to do things the proper way and not expect things to work themselves out. We have lots of farmers who are failing to make it because of their predilection for zvinhu zvemukoto,” said Mr Richard Mazengero of Glen View.
The issue of people being sold bottled smoke is not confined to lowly folk, even the affluent folks are sometimes targeted.
“The world has become a jungle. People are doing a lot of unexpected things. Someone made me pay for a car which up to now is still to arrive from Japan. These people use flowery language which makes you give them money before you realise you are being duped,” said Mr Johnson Mutakura of Mufakose.
Homeseekers who do not exercise due diligence have also often found themselves on the receiving end.
They are made to build their dream houses on State land and made to part with their hard-earned money before the responsible guys they deal with vanish into thin air.
Women who are desperate for marriage also fall into this category.
Some criminals introduce them to their drinking mates as relatives, borrow money from them, impregnate them before disappearing to only God knows where.
Gentle reader, it is critical to be wary in all we do to prevent avoidable losses.
Inotambika mughetto.
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