Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing

ONE of the negative factors to guard against in Zimbabwe's economic-cultural environment are conmen some of whom occasionally rip off desperate pursuers of illusive financial fortunes.

Stories abound of some obviously very naïve people, including married couples, who go to some individuals who claim to be able to multiply a little ready cash into several hundreds of thousands of dollars by means of either prayer or some charm or by sheer magic.

Some of those quacks advertise in some print media claiming to be able to, among other things, reconcile lovers who are at loggerheads, or to improve men's libidonal urge, or increase the length of their male organ from, say 10cm to 30 centimetres!

Apart from it being clearly unethical to give publicity to such impossible, unsupportable claims, it is indefensible for anyone with normal and not subnormal or abnormal mental faculties to fall prey to such falsehoods.

It is true that the psychology of biblical-based literacy believes, by and large, that whatever is written is true. However, it must be borne in mind that Lucifer's agents also use modern mass-communication technology to propagate their false and diabolic ideas.

That simply means that we must use our minds to discern helpful, constructive information from that whose aim is to mislead the readers for the benefit of an individual.

While we acknowledge that many people in Zimbabwe are not well informed about their various environments, we should observe that conmen take advantage of either their victims' foolishness or ignorance.

Foolishness is, to all intents and purposes, incurable in that a foolish individual remains foolish whether he or she is educated. Ignorance is curable because it can be replaced by knowledge and enlightenment.

Conmen do not like people who ask them knowledgeable questions. They would rather deal with foolish or simple-minded individuals.

Many of the victims of conmen are products of rural environments where the cultural practice is that everyone should trust everyone else. That culture is based on people's blood relationship, among other factors.

Rural communities have, and practice, one culture because such communities are generally uni-ethnic.

They observe generally common mores, making it easier to monitor people's social and cultural behaviour. That leads to the reduction of criminal tendencies such as conmanship.

Urban communities are virtually all cosmopolitan, and as a result multi-cultural. Many urban-dwellers regard rural folks as socially inferior, and sometimes as what the English call "bumpkins", that is, socially inept or unsophisticated and easy to cheat.

Conmen target mostly these rural people who visit urban centres during occasions such as trade fairs, agricultural shows, Easter, or following the sale of livestock in the rural areas, and when thereafter some of the sellers go to towns to either shop or bank the sales proceeds.

Conmen range from young men and women who gather on pavements playing games such as "fejafeja", to immaculately dressed, soft-spoken, church associated, wealth-hunters who claim to have the power to fill up anybody's purse with thousands of dollars by means of prayer. But, of course, to win in a "fejafeja" game, one must show the actual game player how much money one has in one's pocket!

"All right, you have won. But before I pay you, show me how much I could have won from you had I emerged the winner," the "fejafeja" game player always demands.

The soft-spoken, religious-inclined conman usually operates from an office. He or she will ask the intended victim to surrender all his or her money so that it can be prayed for so that it multiplies.

The "doctor," who advertises in the media uses primitive methods such as ordering the intended victim to strip naked, and surrender all his or her valuables, to have a bath in some water in which herbs, charms and other concoctions have been put.

Some of those conmen actually begin by showing their intended victims thick wads of bank notes said to have come about as a result of a similar process. Those notes will be counterfeit, of course.

One would have to be extremely foolish or very ignorant to fall for any of those tricks. Be advised that to part with your money based on any of those false promises, to say nothing about the promise to make your manhood longer, would be a self-imposed misery.

The existence of neighbourhood watch committees has a deterrent effect on the incidence of anti-social actions, the rate of occurrence of which is very likely to rise this year throughout Zimbabwe because of the El Nino-induced drought and economic contraction and its results – unemployment.

Some unscrupulous youngsters are bound to turn to crime, including conmanship, for a living. In fact, the formation of churches and sects that are concerned with the accumulation of material wealth, particularly money, more than the propagation of the Word of God will feature prominently.

Many such sects are founded and led by conmen, a very good example of wolves dressed in sheep's clothing.

The police would be well-advised to keep (not only) an up-to-date record of every sect, especially those whose groups are based in the bush.

Many conman and rapists are associated with such bush-based sects.

It is important to note that we are not talking here about mugging, a crime that involves physical violence. We are discussing occurrences where victims usually deliver themselves to criminals.

In mugging cases, the best way to defend oneself is to make as much noise as possible. Muggers usually abandon noisy victims. If the mugger has confronted his or her victim in a secluded place where screaming and shouting would be of no help, the wise option is to submit to the culprit to save one's life.

However, should one opt to fight in defence, it is advisable to hit first and continue fighting aggressively with the aim of making the criminal bite the dust. Such a fight would involve fists, kicks, wrestling and biting.

If weapons are used, one should pull no punches or save blows but should hit left, right and centre as muggers and robbers have no respect for any life, not even their own; that is why they risk their very lives regularly when committing various crimes.

About the writer: Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo-based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. sgwakuba@gmail.com