Zambia Army continues to crackdown on army recruitment scammers
A TEENAGER and a 49 year old woman have been apprehended by Zambia Army police for their involvement in a fraudulent army recruitment scheme.
It was disclosed in a statement, yesterday, that Army Military Police, with the assistance of Commandos in Mbala, arrested 19-year-old Costern Chisowa, for impersonation, incitement, and duping desperate job seekers.
It is reported that the young man, operating under the guise of Chief Chitanda Lumamba, allegedly contacted aspiring candidates between August 11 and 22, 2023, falsely claiming that he had secured spaces for them within the Zambia Army Commando Unit.
However, his offer came with a fee, which he insisted they pay and instructed the hopefuls to report to the Outward Bound Training School located in the Northern District.
Special Forces Group Deputy Commander, Colonel Dowson Kipompwe, revealed that Chisowa further misled the candidates by stating that they had been personally recruited by the Army Commander.
This fabricated connection was used to manipulate the applicants into believing the legitimacy of his offer.
“When he realized that the job seekers were being denied entry into the training school, he resorted to inciting them to protest, even creating misleading videos that falsely depicted the Army as chasing the candidates away,” explained Col Kipompwe.
The arrest of Chisowa came after several of the deceived applicants reported his fraudulent activities to authorities.
Acting swiftly, the military police, along with the Commando unit, took him into custody while he was reportedly making more false calls.
Chisowa’s phone was confiscated by the military police for investigative purposes, and he now awaits legal proceedings for his actions.
Before hand, there had been videos circulating of scammers even going as far as securing places for recruitment hopeful to camp for training while they are made to exercise or run around.
In a separate but related incident, a 39-year-old woman identified as Lyness Kabwe Nkandu was apprehended for exploiting eager job seekers.
Operating under the cover of providing transportation to recruitment centres. Nkandu promised the individuals positions in the ongoing Zambia Army training exercise.
The woman allegedly collected money from these individuals and transported them in Rosa minibuses to various recruitment centers across the country.
According to the Army, the victims reportedly paid amounts ranging from K6,000 to K10,000.
Upon arrival, however to various training centers, Nkandu abandoned them, leaving them stranded and unable to participate in the training exercises, triggering protests due to their inability to gain entry.
Nkandu is currently in detention as investigators work to uncover the extent of her fraudulent activities.
By Moses Makwaya
Kalemba