Let’s respect our living legends
REPORTS of the trauma suffered by Baba Machanic Manyeruke recently, at the hands of con artists, are disturbing.
At 82, Baba Manyeruke deserves all the respect and love befitting the living legend that he is.
He spent over six decades in the game praising the Lord in song and dance.
A multiple award-winning musician, mentor and father figure, The Puritans founder doesn’t deserve to be embarrassed by heartless crooks preying on the elderly.
Earlier this week, he grabbed headlines after he lost two personal cars to suspected con artists.
The pair masqueraded as cops, who claimed to have strong links with high-ranking Government officials. According to court papers, the two cars, valued at US$16 500, have since been recovered while the suspects are now facing the music.
The two suspects also took away the vehicles, even claiming they wanted to service one of the vehicles, only to disappear for some weeks.
Efforts to contact them were in vain until he found one of his vehicles parked in Harare’s Central Business District.
The police shifted into action and arrested the culprits.
The two suspects’ tricks show that we still have a lot of heartless people who don’t even respect or care about our elders, including celebrities like Baba Manyeruke. What is worrisome about this issue is that the same suspects intimidated Baba Manyeruke and instilled fear in him claiming they were strongly linked to powerful Government officials.
Once convicted the two men deserve a stiffer penalty for harassing our legendary singer.
The stress he suffered should never be underestimated. The old man could have collapsed or died of stress if he was not a strong man who believed in God.
Baba Manyeruke’s issue is one of the several cases about old people being conned by con artists. Some of the elderly people have lost their savings, and even houses, after being conned by these crooks.
A number of elderly people are gullible as they tend to trust people who are offering them free help.
Others suffer memory loss with age, which makes them vulnerable to crooks and thieves.
The elderly people also need to know that they should not just invest their trust in everyone, especially people they don’t know.
They should always know that they are very vulnerable.
In situations where the elderly people want to do business transactions they must also consult their trusted relatives or children to avoid being duped by con artists.
Failure to consult wisely has left a number of them counting their losses.
Some are now homeless and poor after being tricked by con artists into gambling with their estates.
The law enforcement agents should also protect the elderly people from being duped. Thefirst step the elderly people need to do, when they suspect something fishy, is to report to the police.
At least, Baba Manyeruke has a profile and can attract media attention.
Imagine others, just like him, who don’t have a profile like his and are just suffering in silence.