A twenty-year-old Zimbabwean man has confessed to a court that he attended funerals in his Chitungwiza town with a purpose of stealing from mourners.
Shillati Makanda thought he had invented a foolproof way of making a quick buck. In each case he claimed to be a relative of the deceased, the Herald reports.
“Even if people realise that you stole from them afterwards they are reluctant to cause your arrest thinking you are a relative,” Makanda was quoted as saying.
His fortieth day arrived when he was reported by a mourner who had lost their Samsung Note 2 he stole on May 16. He told the owner that he needed the phone to take pictures and videos of the funeral of his “uncle” — but then he left the venue and sold the phone for 170 US, according to the report.
This time though, he was reported to the police and eventually arrested.
“Stealing at funerals has an advantage and it is less risky,” Makanda was quoted as saying.
Makanda said all these when he appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Ms Yeukai Chigodora last week where he was convicted of stealing a cellphone from a mourner at one of the funerals.
In passing sentence, she considered that the mobile phone stolen by Makanda was recovered. Ms Chigodora frowned at Makanda’s behaviour of stealing from bereaved families.
