The popular myth and stereotype that portrays men as the
worst offenders when it comes to shoplifting (stealing from shops) has been
busted.
In the region of Opuwo in Namibia, big shops and retailers
are complaining about the increasing cases of shoplifting and it turns out
women are the top perpetrators.Himba,Herero and OvaZemba women clad in
traditional attire are topping the list of perpetrators.
The story which appeared in the Namibian
Newspaper of Friday,1 November 2013 says
a Himba woman concealed a polony sausage between her back and the baby she was straddling.
The tellers at Opuwo Power Save supermarket discovered the polony sausage when
the baby started to cry, apparently in reaction to the cold that was coming
from the sausage.
After being caught red-handed, the woman tried to deceive
the tellers by buying a sausage similar to the one stolen and 2kg of
sugar.However, the trick did not work as the teller knew what was happening.
The woman was ordered to pay a spot fine of 10 times the price of the sausage
or be arrested for shoplifting.
Instead of admitting guilt after being caught red-handed,
the woman tried another trick to save her pride. She had the audacity to accuse
her few months old baby of stealing the polony, but the shop owners did not
believe this story because it is unrealistic for an infant to lift a 600 gram
polony from the shelves and hide it.
An employee at Opuwo Power Save supermarket testified that
shoplifting by the traditional Himba, Herero and OvaZemba women is very rife.
Numerous cases of women stealing from the shop are increasing.Kanokape Kozohura,
the shop worker who searched the woman had this to say:
“We started to keep an eye on the Himba and OvaZemba women
this month after being tipped by staff at another shop Woermann Hyper who told
us that most of the shoplifting cases at their shop were from local indigenous people,
especially the female folk”
Of all the five cases of shoplifting that were recorded at
Opuwo Power Save shop this year, all the perpetrators were Himba women.
At the neighboring shop, the manager of Woermann Hyper says
the shop had 16 cases of shoplifting this year, and records show that women are
the top perpetrators, while men are at the bottom of the list. The top
perpetrators with regards to the highest and least number of incidences are as
follows:
Top Thieves in Opuwo
Supermarkets and Shops
1 – Himba women
2 – OvaZemba women
3 – Herero women
4 – Wambo women
5 – Men
Fortunately, thieves who are caught red-handed have the
option of paying a price that is 10 times the price of the stolen item or face
arrest.
