South African social media users have rallied to find the identity of a man who was seen in a video snatching a woman’s phone while she entered Kream restaurant in Brooklyn, Pretoria.
In the video, a woman dressed in white can be seen walking up the stairs as her friend records her.
The unidentified man walks behind her before snatching her phone and running into a silver Toyota Corolla with Gauteng plate HD 23 TZ GP.
The video was posted on TikTok and made its way onto X, where the detectives got to work to identify the man in question.
Users quickly matched him to Nobert Zapambela, a Zimbabwean allegedly living in Johannesburg’s Maboneng. Screenshots of the alleged suspect’s Instagram showed photos of him in the same outfit partying at clubs.
X users speculated that the suspect had taken the money from the phone and spent it at a shisha nyama spot right after.
@Solphendukaa tweeted: “Putting your life on the line snatching phones just to spend the money on groove lifestyle ?”
A past victim has come forward, including one from a 2023 Hatfield theft, who shared CCTV footage of the suspect committing the criminal act.
@SMankolwane said: “This is the same guy who snatched my phone back in 2023 in Hatfield…I’m the one who asked for that CCTV footage…These phone snatchers don’t learn. He needs to be stopped.”
Crime activist Yusuf Abramjee has urged for people to send tips to SAPS CrimeStop and no arrests have been reported as of December 30.
The Tshwane District Police and Brooklyn SAPS are currently investigating the matter.
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