Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura, Court Reporter
FOUR Bulawayo women turned a simple shopping trip into a full-blown crime spree when they tried to smuggle groceries worth US$107 out of Metro Cash and Carry.
The shoplifters, known in local lingo as omarobane, hid the loot in their clothes and dashed for the toilets when things went south!
Sibongile Luphahla (30) and Joice Uranda (41) of Old Pumula, Nomagugu Sibanda (39) of Makokoba and Trace Mwale (35) of Pumula South, found themselves before Western Commonage magistrate Jeconia Prince Ncube, where they all pleaded guilty to theft. The “shopping crew” was each fined US$110 or risk spending 30 days behind bars if they fail to pay up by 5 December.
Prosecutor Tafara Dzimbanhete said the women struck at around 10AM on 8 November, at the Metro Cash and Carry Wholesale along Khami Road.
“One of them, Luphahla, was caught at the exit with a 2kg pack of washing powder she had not paid for,” said Dzimbanhete.
Realising their cover was blown, her partners-in-crime bolted for the toilets where they offloaded the rest of the loot — three cartons of Blue Seal Vaseline, three cartons of Protex soap and three cartons of tinned beef, all stuffed in their undies like a human grocery shelf.
However, their sneaky move didn’t go unnoticed. A security guard spotted the trio’s suspicious dash and followed them straight into their downfall.
Everything was recovered and handed back to the store, much to the relief of branch manager Shepherd Machanja (38), who reported the matter to police.
The four were later hauled to court and just like that, their “buy one, steal three” plan crumbled faster than stale bread.
