Tricksters jailed for cheating shop cashier

Trick stars who went all the way from Bulawayo to Lupane where they cheated a shopkeeper and a shop owner of over R600 through creating confusion around the change they were to get after buying an item at a hardware shop have been slapped with an effective four months in jail for both theft and unlawful entry.

Givemore Nxumalo (31) and Rodwell Ngwenya (32) pleaded guilty to both unlawfull entry and theft charges when they appeared before Lupane resident magistrate Aelene Munamati.

The magistrate convicted them on their own plea of guilty and sentenced them to a total effective jail term of four months. She also gave them an additional two months jail term which she suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

The prosecutor Sanders Sibanda told the court that on March 17 this year at 5.30pm the two went to Colour Hardware in Lupane and they approached a shop keeper Limukile Mpofu and tendered a $100 note to buy an item which worth $6. She told them that she has no change and would have to look for it from other shops. She gave them a $50 note as she made her way to look for the rest of the change but Nxumalo shouted at her advising her that they were in a harry. She then turned back and went to look for a change from Joshua Mhlanga whose office is within the same store under the same roof. When she was about to enter Nxumalo shouted again saying they were no longer interested on dollar change but she could make them the change in rands.

While the shop keeper was still in Mhlanga's office the two bolted in and demanding their money without permission from Mhlanga to get in.

the shop keeper then in panick gave them back their $100 note after Nxumalo also changed his statement saying that he no longer need rands and also the R1200 she had obtained from Mhlanga.

She also gave him R100 and instead of him returning the $50 which he was given earlier. They only returned R600. Mhlanga later realized that the money was not enough and the two made a report to the police leading to the arrest of the two. R600 was recovered from them.