Zimbabwe: female rapists trade in illicit sperm

In Zimbabwe, three women and their male accomplice are due to go on trial in January accused of drugging men before extracting their semen, which is believed to be sold to witchdoctors.

By Nkosana Dlamini, Harare

“It's time men tasted their own medicine. Now they have an idea of how we feel when they force themselves on us," said 22-year-old rape victim Namatai about one year ago. Namatai was speaking when the mystery of the female ‘rapists’ surfaced in Zimbabwe, following a number of assaults.

But for male rape victims, hope has been restored by the recent arrest of three women and a man, all in their mid 20s, in Zimbabwe’s central province city of Gweru.

Police consider the arrest of Rosemary Chakwizira, Sophie Nhokwara, Netsai Nhokwara and their male accomplice, Thulani Ngwenya, would help catch more ‘sperm thieves’, a phenomenon believed to be widespread in Zimbabwe.

Car accident
The suspects were arrested as they tried to retrieve a plastic bag containing 31 used condoms, three half filled with semen, at the scene of a car accident where Ngwenya had struck and killed a pedestrian.
The four all face 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault, a charge equal to rape.

The suspects, now out of custody, are due to stand trial on 26 January next year. But they have asked for court protection claiming they are regularly threatened by angry mobs.

Since their arrest, 17 men, among them a policeman and a soldier, have stepped forward to claim they were “raped” by the women. Incidentally, under Zimbabwean laws it is ‘impossible’ for a woman to rape a man.

Hitchhikers and snakes
There are more male hitchhikers who recount ordeals where female motorists would suddenly change direction, find a secluded spot then force them into sexual encounters.
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Victims are made to swallow a concoction that induces sexual excitement and gives them energy to sustain them through multiple sexual encounters. The victim is then dumped after ejaculating into a condom.
One victim was shown a large snake at the back of the car while many described being raped at gun point.
Police investigating the rapes view the arrest of the female suspects as a breakthrough in one of the most puzzling scams in decades. The case has also been a subject of heated debate among ordinary Zimbabweans.

When the incidents first surfaced last year, male sex lovers marvelled at the prospect of being raped saying this would be “manna from heaven”. But the apparently evil intentions of the alleged female sex offenders has made many men think again. “After this, I now insist on personally disposing of a condom after sex with a prostitute,” says Gerald Manzini.

Witchdoctors
A study by the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Sociology describes a “sperm harvest syndicate”, writing of businessmen roaming Harare’s dark streets in posh cars, sponsoring street boys to hire prostitutes for sex and later surrendering filled condoms.

According to the study, the harvested semen is taken to witchdoctors who mix it with herbs to produce potions claiming to create wealth. The blend, according to the study, is also said to boost the user’s business while criminals reportedly use it to evade prosecution.

Some say human sperm donation is lucrative business in neighbouring South Africa where a full condom fetches 3000 South African rand (186 euros). Zimbabwean traditional medicine practitioners confirm the covert use of human sperm to concoct wealth enhancing charms for clients but denounce the practice.