James Phiri
(40) from P3 Lwendulu Village thought he had cracked the code to easy money —
walk into a shop, flash a story about a “US$100 note in the car,” grab the
change, and vanish. But the scam finally ran out of road when angry residents
cornered him during his fourth attempt at Mkhosana Shopping Centre.
Phiri appeared
before Victoria Falls magistrate Linda Dzvene facing four counts of fraud. He
was sentenced to 40 months in prison, with five months suspended on condition
of good behaviour.
According to
prosecutor Daphine Ntini, Phiri targeted mostly female vendors and shop
attendants between September and October 2025, using the same silver-tongued
script each time.
“In one
incident, he walked into Calvary Collection, picked scissors worth US$20, and
claimed his US$100 note was with a taxi driver outside. The shopkeeper handed
him US$80 change — and he disappeared,” said Ntini.
A day earlier,
Phiri had charmed a Victoria Falls Pharmacy worker into giving him US$80
“change for court fees,” pointing to a parked car as proof he’d return. Spoiler
alert — he didn’t.
At Comesa
Market, he pulled the same stunt on a shoe vendor, this time walking away with
US$75. And at Soppers Shop, he bought shoes worth US$5, claimed his “note” was
in the car, and pocketed US$95 in change before pulling another vanishing act.
By the time his
luck ran out, Phiri had scammed US$330 — none of which was recovered.
Magistrate
Dzvene described him as a “serial trickster” whose deceit corroded community
trust. “Such behaviour must be punished to protect honest citizens,” she said,
sending him straight to jail. Chronicle
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