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‘Church thief’ faces fresh charges

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A HARARE woman who allegedly pounced on several churchgoers and stole cash after smearing them with human waste, appeared in court last Friday facing fresh theft charges.

A HARARE woman who allegedly pounced on several churchgoers and stole cash after smearing them with human waste, appeared in court last Friday facing fresh theft charges.

BY NQOBILE NKIWANE

Ferbie Warikandwa (24) was not asked to plead when she appeared before Mbare magistrate Shelly Zvenyika who released her on $100 bail and remanded her to June 23.

Allegations against Warikandwa are that on April 25 and at Seventh Day Adventist Church in Waterfalls, she told Rumbidzai Marandu that she had been smeared with faeces at the back of her blouse and requested baby wipes to help clean her up.

Warikandwa then escorted Marandu behind the church building to help clean up the mess and in the process searched her bag and stole a cellphone valued at $500.

Prosecutor Vincent Chikerema told the court that on May 3 at the Methodist Church in Parktown, Waterfalls, Warikandwa sat next to Gertrude Mukwenya.

She told her that she had stains on her blouse.

Warikandwa then escorted Mukwenya to the bathroom where she “intended to help clean her up”.

Warikandwa allegedly asked Mukwenya to carry her handbag with her.

Upon arrival in the bathroom, Warikandwa allegedly told Mukwenya that her blouse was smelling and she wanted to go and get a sanitiser.

It is alleged that while Mukwenya was in the bathroom, Warikandwa took her handbag, removed her purse which contained $1 000, bank cards, medical cards, a driver’s licence and funeral policy cards before disappearing from the scene.

Last week, Warikandwa appeared in court facing several related counts of theft from church members.