Thief hides loot in privates

AS the most sensitive body part of the human body, some women have taken matters into their own hands by making their private parts multi-purposeful.

From a storage unit to a handy place to hide drugs, knives and money, some women have lodged a plethora of objects into the birth canal.

Although women's private parts are not meant to be storage units, purses or secret hiding places, a cheeky Zimunya female thief recently had other ideas for the multiple purpose private parts.

In her desperate bid to conceal evidence and permanently deprive her pick-pocketing victim of her hard earned money, Ngazireyi Matiya (26) did the unthinkable and found her private parts as the safest place to hide the $615 she had stolen from a Penhalonga woman, Plaxedes Mabombe.

The money was made up of $100 and $50 notes.

Her actions, which deserve a place in the bizarre and stranger than fiction columns of the world's celebrated tabloids left police detectives at Mutare Central Police Station speechless and weak-kneed.

Having been positively identified as the person who had stolen Mabombe's money, detectives got more than what they had bargained for as they were forced to do a bit of a gynaecology's work of giving the stolen money 'a safe birth'. This was after detectives had tried all tricks in the book to recover the money which the adamant and stubborn Ngazireyi had neatly stashed in her private parts.

She had stubbornly and consistently denied that she had stolen Mabombe's money before Detective Constables Chinembiri and Muroiwa further interrogated her leading her into spilling the beans and disclosing her 'loot hiding facility'.

To the shock of the detectives, Matiya divulged that she was hiding the money in an organ that plays a critical role in human reproduction.

She will be a guest of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services for the next two months after senior Mutare magistrate, Mrs Sekai Chiwundura on Monday slapped her with a jail term.

Matiya was sentenced to six months imprisonment. Three months were suspended on condition that she does not commit a similar offence in the next five years. Another one month was suspended on condition that she restitutes Mabombe $15 which was not recovered, leaving her to serve an effective two-month jail term.

It was the State's case led by Public Prosecutor, Mr Donald Mudadirwa that Matiya, who resides at House Number 1105, Zimunya Township, on July 9, boarded the same commuter omnibus with Mabombe which was heading to Mutasa.

Mabombe was carrying a handbag with a purse containing $615 on her lap. When the kombi reached Hartzell High School at Old Mutare Mission, the sticky-fingered Matiya covered Mabombe with a jacket and unzipped her handbag. She stole $615 from the handbag and Mabombe did not discover the theft.

The court heard that Matiya disembarked from the kombi at Mapara turn-off and vanished with the money. Mabombe later discovered that her money was missing and raised alarm.

She pleaded with the kombi driver to help her track Matiya. The driver agreed and made a U-turn. Matiya had since found another lift which had taken her back to Mutare, but however, luck ran out of her as she was arrested in Mutare's Central Business District.

She was taken to CID Mutare where she was interviewed and first denied the charges. After further interrogations, Matiya later confessed that she had the money. She revealed that she had hidden it inside her private parts.

"Matiya was taken to the toilet where she was searched by Detective Constables Chinembiri and Muroiwa. A total of $600 was recovered hidden inside her private parts," said Mr Mudadirwa.