Image courtesy: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp
A viral post circulating in multiple WhatsApp groups falsely claims that an unidentified “municipality” is hiring 70 workers
The post was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check on 26 November 2023 to be verified.
The WhatsApp message states that the post was retrieved from a public Facebook group titled ‘Job Seekers Namibia’, where jobs in Namibia are posted. The group has over 72,000 members.
The viral post states the following:
“GOOD DAY MUNICIPALITY IS HIRING 20 DRIVERS
30 CLEANERS
20 GENERAL WORKERS
IN ALL THE REGIONS
KINDLY CONTACT THE REGIONAL HR MANAGER
MR GEORGE KAPEPU 0813711722 /06123408
FOR MORE INFORMATION.
FROM JOB SEEKERS NAMIBIA”
The Facts
Namibia Fact Check could not find the post on the Job Seekers Namibia Facebook page.
Also, with the “municipality” where the jobs are located not being identified, Namibia Fact Check could not find such vacancies – 20 drivers, 30 cleaners and 20 general workers – on the websites or social media feeds of the largest municipalities in Namibia, namely Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Tsumeb.
Furthermore, it is unclear which organisation or entity the “Regional HR Manager” is with. When Namibia Fact Check called the mobile number listed in the post, someone who identified as George Kapepu answered and said that the jobs were real, but when questioned further about the jobs and which entity he was a regional HR manager at, the person said they had to deal with another matter, but would call back shortly afterwards. The call back never happened. Upon calling the other number in the post, the message received was that the number did not exist.
While it remains unclear whether the jobs being promoted actually exist, the post comes across as yet another typical social media recruitment scam that either seeks to steal people’s personal information or scam them out of money in order to secure a job.