Man ‘fakes death to avoid debts’

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter
A BULAWAYO man feigned his death in a bid to avoid huge debts, it was claimed yesterday.
Lawrence Ndlovu, a cellphone dealer at Unity Village flea market in the city centre, is said to have accumulated massive debts to shore up his struggling business.
And in a bid to throw off his creditors, his friends said, Ndlovu reportedly sent them text messages claiming he was dead. “I’m sorry, Lawrence has passed away. He died a few moments ago,” became the standard response after Ndlovu’s “death” on Sunday night.

In a state of shock, his friends shared the message while some rushed to his home in Nketa suburb to ascertain if the message was true.
“When we heard about his death, I decided to go to his house but I was surprised when I found him sleeping,” said Mgcini Sibanda, who works with Ndlovu at the flea market.

“I asked him about the death message and he said it could have been sent by his sister who had panicked when he collapsed.”
Ndlovu’s girlfriend Beauty Magagula was devastated after being informed about his “death”.

She said: “I was shocked when his sister called me between 10 and 11PM informing me that Lawrence had died, considering that he was well during the day.

“In the morning, my uncle went to his house to inquire on what happened and he found that he was alive.”
Beauty said when she asked him about the death message, Ndlovu had told her that “there were people harassing him about debts.”
Yesterday, Ndlovu insisted her had not sent the message and denied he was trying to flee piling debts.

“I collapsed on that night and the person who was with me mistakenly assumed that I was dead and started sending that message,” he said.
He also denied faking his death to escape paying his debts.

“If I really wanted to avoid paying debts, I would have run away. Whoever said I was trying to escape paying debts was lying. I don’t even have debts, and if I have them, it might be just a mere $5 or less,” he said.

However, friends at the flea market at Unity Village said Ndlovu owed several people money.
“I was shocked when I heard that he was dead when I came to work on Monday. I know he owes a lot of people money,” said Duncan Mpofu.
Another trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added: “On Sunday, he told me that he was going to Zambia to source some money so that he can clear his debts and later that night I received a message informing me about his sudden death.”