A 22-YEAR-OLD man of Mbala identified as Alex Sinkonde has lost over K10,000 to a scámmèr identified as Harrison Kapisha, who promised him a job in Zambia Army.
Alex and his father, Abel Chimfwembe, spent three nights at the intercity bus terminus upon reaching Lusaka as Mr Kapisha could not show up to receive them as earlier agreed.
Mr Sinkonde told Sunday Mail that it all began when he received a message from a man who introduced himself as Harrison Kapisha informing him that the army was in the process of replacing some of its employees.
“He asked me to apply for the job if I was interested and I did because I have always wanted to join the army. Mr Kapisha told me to send him K85 for the application letter and copies of my NRC and Grade 12 results, which I did. I filled in the application letter and sent it to him on WhatsApp.
“He told me that my application was logged in towards the end of the application window and that the names of successful candidates would soon be announced. He later sent me a document and asked me to check if my name was among those who were recruited in the army,” Mr Sinkonde said.
Mr Sinkonde spotted his name on page 18 of the document sent by Mr Kapisha.
After this, Mr Kapisha asked him to send money meant to buy food and materials he would need whilst undergoing training.
Mr Kapisha sent a list of things to Mr Sinkonde that needed to be bought, amounting to K10,040.
“I sent him the money and he advised me to travel to Lusaka on February 10, 2025. He also advised that I travel with my father so that he can witness the whole process. I came to Lusaka with my father on Monday. On our way, I regularly communicated with Mr Kapisha, who promised to receive us in Lusaka.
“When we reached intercity bus terminus, I called him again and he said he would come within 15 minutes. We waited for more than 15 minutes but he did not show up. I tried to call him again but the phone was off. We slept at intercity and the following day, I tried to call him but his phone was constantly off,” Mr Sinkonde said.
Sensing a scám, Mr Sinkonde and his father decided to report the matter to Lusaka Central Police Station but they were referred to army headquarters.
He said when they got there, an army officer tried to check the WhatsApp profile picture for Mr Kapisha and discovered that there was a picture of the army commander.
-Zambia Daily Mail