�Men of God� rip-off Gantsi villagers

Leinanyana Tsiane | Tuesday May 27, 2014 15:47

 

The duo defraud the gullible of money through false pretences. Molobe told Mmegi that the latest victim of the criminals is an old man whom they conned on his way from the bank. He said the conmen approached the old man and began ‘prophesying’ to him.

They said the old man had a problem with his wife and cattle and that as the ‘men of God’, they could help solve all his troubles. “Indeed the old man had the said problems and he agreed to let the men help him,” Molobe said.

“The two told the old man to accompany them into the bush to pray together. When they got to a secluded spot on the outskirts of Gantsi, the men prayed with the man before they told him to keep his eyes on a calabash they had brought with them.”

According to Molobe, the two conmen then told their elderly victim to take a short walk but keep checking the calabash. Once the container filled magically with water, the old man was assured his problems would be over. “The old man kept checking the calabash and eventually he found it filled with water and the two criminals demanded P2,000 as payment, which the old man paid. Only later did the victim realise that he had been cheated and reported the matter to police.”

Molobe urged residents to avoid falling for such scams because no one has the power to magically increase money.

The perpetrators are still at large and Molobe has appealed to other victims of the scam to come forward with information that may lead to the duo’s apprehension.

Meanwhile Gantsi suffered a spate of break-ins last week when thugs stole money and property. “Thieves broke into a place commonly known as Diplot and stole electronic equipment worth P11,000. They stole computers, cellphones and cameras. So far, we have arrested a Zimbabwean man whom we found in possession of the items,” Molobe said.

Thieves raided Brickyard Construction, blasting open the safe and making off with P3,000 and an undisclosed amount in foreign currency. In the same week, two masked men robbed Behind The Hills restaurant and stole P950 after threatening the employees with knives. “No arrests have been made in these cases, but we advise businesspeople to always deposit their cash in the bank to avoid such situations,” Molobe said.