Shoplifters and con-women popularly known as ‘mashop dambu’ are wreaking havoc in the Central Business District (CBD) by conning unsuspecting people especially women.
The recent incident picked up an unlucky con-woman who was identified by one of her con-victims, a vendor in the CBD.
These women play double truant work. They pretend to be employers. They also dupe people in what is called theft by false pretense and theft by conversion. They impersonate to be police or city council police. They bundle away vendors’ goods and disappear. Lastly, their known activity is that they get in shops block cameras (CCTV) while other stash small clothes on their pants and hand bags.
It has been learnt that Elizabeth Mberi a vendor was conned US$35 in the hope that she will get a job in a shop.
Mberi on that particular morning around 1030hrs came across her assailant Linnety Nyama whom she then reported to a mob before getting instance justice from the angry public.
Mberi recovered her money and left her in a pool of blood after receiving a thorough beating.
Speaking to the police about the issue, one police at Harare Central Police said the number of these so-called “shop dambus” are on the increase.
“These are shop lifters. Besides they con unsuspecting women by pretending to be employers. They have increased in number with the bite of economic hardships. They mainly con women not men. There are several complaints that we receive every day at the station” he said
