Alleged Ex-Girlfriend of Phone Snatcher Accuses Him of Faking His Nationality
- A woman who was allegedly the girlfriend of the phone snatcher who was arrested after a video of him stealing a phone went viral spoke up
- She said that the man, with whom she was in a relationship, pretended to be from one of the indigenous groups of South Africa
- South Africans questioned some of her statements and debated her allegations that she did not know his nationality
Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of the Current Affairs desk, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, shootings, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.
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JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — South Africans slammed a woman who was alleged to be the ex-girlfriend of the phone snatcher who went viral on social media. She said that the suspect pretended to be a South African when she got into a relationship with him.
PSAFLIVE posted a video of the ex-girlfriend speaking about the man's alleged con. She accused him of using a fraudulent South African ID and only found out two months after breaking up with him that he was Zimbabwean.
Alleged phone-snatcher's girlfriend speaks
In the video PSAFLIVE posted on its@psaflive X account, the unidentified woman said that she knew him as Siyabonga. She said she realised his true identity in 2023, years before he was arrested.
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View the video on X here:
How did the phone snatcher get caught?
The South African Police Service launched a manhunt for the suspect after a video of the incident went viral. The incident happened on 29 December, and in the viral video, the victim was on her way to Kream, a restaurant in Pretoria. The man appears from behind, snatches the phone, and flees.
The suspect was arrested in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on 30 December. He was found hiding in a flat in Hillbrow. He was wearing the same T-shirt he wore when he snatched the phone in Brooklyn.
South Africans don't believe her
Netizens commenting on X challenged her assertions that she did not know his nationality while they were together.
Call-a-spade said:
"A pure Zulu dribbled by a foreigner trying to speak her language? I'm not Zulu but just spending 15 minutes with a foreigner, and I can pick up very early that they are not South African."
Letswai Nameng said:
"Suka. Trying to clear her name from association now that the guy has been flagged. Why didn't she report him to the police when she found out?"
Bongani Mkuna asked:
"Has she benefited from his criminal activities?"
Brian Wolfe said:
"This girl is lying. Under normal circumstances, Norbert would have made phone calls home or to his Zimbabwean friends or family members, and during these calls he would have spoken his native language."
Sol Phenduka reacts to phone-snatching
In a related article, Briefly News reported that radio DJ and podcaster Sol Phenduka reacted to the video of the phone snatching incident.
Phenduka slammed the suspect after videos of him drinking on social media went viral.
"Putting your life on the line snatching phones just to spend the money on groove lifestyle? SMH," he said.
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Source: Briefly News
