Kathorus tricksters prey on immigrant
When Malawian immigrant Gerald Peterson Mpanganeni, lost his passport somewhere between Thokoza and Katlehong on November 7, the first thought that came to his mind was to call the offices of his favourite lokshin paper and ask for help.
Kathorus MAIL published Mpanganeni’s plea on the “Letters Page” in the November 27 issue of the newspaper, in which the desperate Malawian immigrant and married father of two young children aged 16 and 12, appealed to anyone of his fellow readers in these areas, where he suspected the missing travel document may slipped out of the “file-folder” he was holding and fallen to the ground – to help him recover it.
Although Mpanganeni, lives in South Africa legally and works as a welder and pipe-fitter in Alberton South, he told Kathorus MAIL his concern was the inconvenience it would cost him to have the document replaced by the foreign affairs authorities back in his East African country.
“I would have had to travel to Malawi to do that. Sending an SOS to Kathorus MAIL was as a result of my frustrated desperation of not knowing who to turn to,” he said during a visit to the newspaper’s offices in Vosloorus.
“The first person to call me after my letter was published in the Kathorus MAIL was a man from Thokoza who told me he had found my passport and asked me to come and collect it from him at his home. When I arrived, the person changed his story and told me he had left the passport at his other home in Zonkizizwe and that he would need R17 taxi fare to fetch it,” explained Mpanganeni, who said the man told him to return the following morning and collect his passport.
But when Mpanganeni went back to the man’s house in Thokoza the next day, the man was unable to produce the missing passport.
Instead, he asked Mpanganeni to wait for him for a while as he vanished into the dense amaze of adjacent row of local informal settlement shacks.
“After about 45 minutes, I realised I had been ‘conned’ and decided to leave,” explained the Mpanganeni.
However, last week, Mpanganeni says he received a phone call from a woman caller he estimates to be about 35 to 40 years old. The woman informed Mpanganeni that she was unfortunately unable to meet with him in person, but that she wanted him to know that she was in possession of his lost travel document and that she would like the two of them to discuss the process of returning the passport in exchange for a cash “thank-you” fee of R1 000.
The Malawian says he managed to finally bring the woman’s “thank-you” fee down to R500 and the caller demanded that Mpanganeni send the money to her via the Shoprite or Spar Money Transfer Services. She promised to deliver the passport to the address in Mavimbela Section in Katlehong published in the Malawian’s letter to the Editor for the hopeful return of his lost passport.
But when the Malawian asked the called to read something written on Page 4 of his passport, the woman caller declined saying she was “not familiar” with foreign passports and that she was actually doing Mpanganeni a favour by calling him.
“You just send the R500 via Shoprite or Spar and I’ll deliver your passport at your house on Mavimbela Section address,” prompted the mysterious female caller.
While Mpanganeni was at our offices, Kathorus MAIL tried to call the two numbers the unknown woman had used to contact Mpanganeni, but both were continuously unavailable and remained unanswered.
Although Mpanganeni was reluctant to send the R500 demanded by the woman for his passport, he said he was adamant the woman was a trickster who is out to try her proverbial “luck” with him. He says he believes his story should be a “warning” to other Kathorus MAIL readers as desperate unscrupulous confidence tricksters, con-men and women can be out there, especially this time of the festive season.
According to Mpanganeni, a forensic probe he conducted on the woman’s two cell numbers revealed the owner of one of the numbers also has a “Whatsup” Account under the name; Lindi”. Kathorus MAIL has also since established that the account has not been active since May 28, 2015.
Mpanganeni, who accused the Thokoza SAPS of ignoring his pleas for help in the matter, including assisting him with writing an affidavit confirming the loss of his passport, however, thanked the police at the Ramokonopi Police precinct for issuing him with one.
“They (Katlehong SAPS) were perfect gentlemen in uniform,” expressed a relieved Gerald Peterson Mpanganeni, who says his only concern is to find his passport or face the costly consequences of journeying back to native Malawi to apply for a new one.
