A COUPLE of unsuspecting shoppers in Bulawayo were left reeling in shock after realising they had been swindled of their hard-earned cash by a woman who pretended to be an agent who could deliver goods.
According to some of the victims who were interviewed by Southern Eye, Brenda Sibanda allegedly convinced some people that she is a “runner” based in South Africa and operated legitimately.
The phenomena of runner services became a norm during the hard lockdown when the country’s borders were closed.
The “runner” would receive money from a shopper and do the physical shopping on their behalf and send the goods to Zimbabwe for collection by the buyer.
According to one victim, a local trader named Prince Ngwenya whose account was used, Sibanda relied on social media platform WhatsApp to lure her victims.
“She claims to be in South Africa and to be a runner and to be having a WhatsApp group where she reaches out to her clients and posts clothes,” he said.
The clients would then place their orders on the group.
“And she would make them pay to my account in South Africa and after that, she would ask me to transfer the money to her eWallet number, but she would not deliver clients orders. The clients would then report the accounts to which they would have sent the money,” he said.
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“Basically, this is how she scams people. So they lose the money to her. I had served her four times and I quickly noticed that she is a thief. Her purported clients reported my account and it got blocked.”
Asked if he had any communication with her, Ngwenya said that is how he got her photos.
“She sent me four pictures and quickly deleted them, but I had already saved them to my gallery. However, I cannot ascertain that the pictures she sent really are hers, but I think it’s her cause that’s what is on her profile picture as well,” he said.
Ngwenya said he still had not reported her to the police.
“The money that we are sure of and can account for now is R7 000. She is a small time thief,” he said.
Efforts by Southern Eye to locate Sibanda were fruitless, but a snap survey in Bulawayo indicated that several people had lost their money in similar fashion.
Shortages of basic commodities due to a collapsed economy have led to several Zimbabwean manufacturers to close shop or relocate to South Africa.
According to the United Nations MONTRADE database on international trade, Zimbabwe imports from South Africa amounted to US$3,5 billion in 2023.
Goods imported from South Africa by ordinary Zimbabweans include clothes, cereals, electrical, electronic equipment, animal products, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products, soaps, lubricants, waxes, candles, modelling pastes and miscellaneous edible preparations.
Zimbabweans also buy essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics, toiletries, sugars and sugar confectionery including milling products, malt, starches, inlin, wheat gluten salt, sulphur, earth, stone, plaster, lime, cement, beverages, spirits and vinegar.
However, these goods and others are smuggled into Zimbabwe through Beitbridge, Plumtree border posts as well as other porous points along the border line.
