A handshake that wipes bank accounts clean

Victims have recounted stories of losing money and other valuables after innocent handshakes from strangers [Courtesy]

“If the most basic African cultural symbol of peace can turn out to be so hostile, then all our values have gone down the drain,” said Mary (not her real name).

Mary’s neighbours described her as a self-confident and cheerful woman, but that is not what I saw when I met her. She looked fearful and only agreed to narrate her ordeal after some persuasion. Her only condition was that her identity be kept secret because she was still traumatised.