HARARE
–
A
Zvishavane
man
lost
US$15,000
to
Harare
con
artists
who
stole
the
money
from
him
using
a
common
hoax
known
in
Shona
as
“chadonha”.
In
the
trick,
scammers
drop
a
bunch
of
bank
notes
in
the
path
of
their
victims
who
do
not
notice
the
bait
at
first.
When
the
victim
picks
the
cash
in
the
belief
they
were
lucky
to
stumble
upon
some
money,
they
are
then
confronted
by
the
scammers
who
deceptively
claim
they
had
seen
it
first.
In
the
ensuing
exchanges,
the
victim
is
then
lured
to
a
secluded
place
on
the
pretext
they
were
going
to
share
the
money
and
that
is
where
one
loses
both
the
bait
money
and
their
own
cash.
The
victim
in
this
case
is
one
Luckson
Daka,
aged
43.
One
of
the
suspects
involved
in
the
scam,
Wellington
Nhiwatiwa,
46,
appeared
before
Harare
provincial
magistrate
Isheanesu
Matova
charged
with
fraud.
Nhiwatiwa
challenged
his
placement
on
remand
and
was
expected
back
in
court
on
Thursday
for
ruling
on
his
application.
Takudzwa
Jambawu,
representing
the
state,
said
the
incident
occurred
on
November
19
this
year.
Nhiwatiwa
and
seven
other
suspects
who
are
still
at
large
approached
Daka,
who
had
just
got
down
an
Inter-Africa
bus
from
Zvishavane.
They
dropped
a
bunch
of
fake
notes
wrapped
in
a
plastic
in
front
of
him.
The
court
heard
that
they
managed
to
lure
Daka
to
the
Harare
Kopje
mountain,
saying
they
were
going
to
share
the
money
with
him.
“While
at
the
Kopje,
another
group
of
five
men
appeared
pretending
to
be
police
officers,”
read
court
papers.
They
reportedly
took
US$15,000
which
was
in
complainant’s
satchel
and
vanished.