Woman stripped naked, robbed

A short cut is often a wrong cut.

This was at play when a woman was allegedly stripped naked and robbed of her clothes and a cellphone by an unidentified man she met while walking along a footpath.

This was after the man had identified himself to the woman as a police officer.

The woman is aged 18.

According to a source, the woman was walking along a footpath in Tshabalala suburb. When she was a few metres from a beerhall in the suburb, an unidentified man emerged and introduced himself as a police officer.

"He handcuffed her before stripping her naked and took her clothes and a cellphone. He then lit a cigarette and smoked. While he was smoking the woman exploited the opportunity and ran away towards Mambo Beer Garden," said the source.

While she was running in her birthday suit, she met a Good Samaritan who took her in his car to a police station.

"A man identified as Freeman Chahweta, who was driving a silver Honda Fit took her to Tshabalala Police Station where she reported the incident," said a source.

Female police officers offered the victim a sarong to wrap herself before they accompanied her to her home.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident and warned members of the community against walking along footpaths.

"We would like to discourage members of the public from walking along footpaths as they are a haven for criminals and they would be putting their lives at risk," he warned.