Jobs scam ends in tears for soldier, civilian

Jobs scam ends in tears for soldier, civilian

 By Thandizo Banda

AFTER scamming scores of youths with fake job promises in the military, fate has finally caught up with a Zambia Army Warrant Officer Class 1 and a former civilian staff member.

Police in Kabwe have arrested the two suspected scammers for duping over 50 youths that they would recruit them as soldiers into the Zambia National Service (ZNS) and civilian staff in the Zambia Army.

Central Province Police Commissioner Charity Munganga identified the army officer as Thomas Somanje, 53, commonly known as Chewe, a Warrant Officer Class 1, of Chindwin Barracks in the Zambia Army who is also a teacher at Army School of Education and Royd Phiri, 33, commonly known as Mitch Mvula, a former Zambia Army civilian member of staff, a former convict.

“The two scammers managed to get monies ranging between K6,000 and K8,500 from the parents to the affected youths in different circumstances ranging from medicals and other requirements from the so-called military recruitment. An estimated K476,000 is involved in this matter,” Munganga said.

She told The Mast the bogus recruiters had promised the 56 “shortlisted” youths, 23 of whom housed in Railways Compound and 21 in Katondo with 12 commuting as day scholars, short military training session and later full employment into the military.

Munganga said the victims had secured also a lot of groceries for use in the purported recruitment which they had stored in metallic trunks, which were moved to Katondo Compound for unknown reasons.

Munganga said Somanje and Phiri had even shaved the heads of the expectant youths in readiness for the fake training.

“The two scammers had been using one taxi driver for all their movements, who led to their apprehension on Tuesday,” she said.

The Zambia Army officer was found with a lot of application forms for both Zambia Army and ZNS recruitment.

“In the process of investigations, after the discovery of the first house in Railways with 23 youths, another house was found in Katondo Compound where 21 youths comprising six girls and 15 boys were housed by the said two scammers, and immediately, the Railways house was visited by the police, the same Royd Phiri went to warn the other group in Katondo that their colleagues were arrested by the police and told them to disperse and that is how all the 20 youths fled to Eastern Province where they came from, leaving one who came to report at the police,” police sources said.

Police warned people to be on the lookout for such fraudsters and urged them to report any suspicious people and activities happening in their areas to them.