Zimbabwe 'Sperm Hunters' Acquitted Of Raping 17 Men
Zimbabwe 'Sperm Hunters' Acquitted Of Raping 17 Men
Sara C Nelson— Huffington Post UK
A trio of Zimbabwean women who were accused of raping male hitch-hikers in order to harvest their sperm have been cleared.
According to local media reports, a handful of hitch-hikers claimed they had been drugged, threatened with knives and even live snakes before they were forced into sex and then dumped by the roadside. The sperm was apparently being collected for use in “ju-ju” rituals.
The women, sisters Sophie Nhokwara (26), Netsai Nhokwara (24) and Rosemary Chakwizira (28), were exonerated by DNA evidence, AFP reported.
Their lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni said: “The state has withdrawn the charges. The police arrested the wrong people.”
In November, the sisters and one of their boyfriends were charged with attacking male hitchhikers and harvesting their sperm for rituals, Today Online reported.
The Nhokwara sisters were arrested after they were involved in a car accident and police found 30 used condoms in their car boot.
They faced 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault in a country where a woman raping a man is not considered a criminal offence.
The trio apparently told a Harare court they are merely hard-working prostitutes.
Mthombeni said the state was prosecuting Netsai Nhokwara and Rosemary Chakwizira on lesser charges of “loitering for the purposes of prostitution.”
He added that his clients were planning to sue the police for their “unlawful” arrests and for parading them on national TV as “female rapists”.
In March, one female motorist told AFP how she had recently pulled over to pick up a group of male hitchhikers who refused to get into her car for fear of being raped.
Susan Dhliwayo, 19, said: “Now men fear women. They said: ‘We can’t go with you because we don’t trust you’.”
National police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told Zimbabwe Times Live there was not yet an exact number of confirmed cases, but warned male travellers to be vigilant.
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Pictures Of The Day: 8 May 2012
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A pedestrian is reflected on an election poster of Democratic Alliance party at a bus stop in Athens, Saturday May 5, 2012. Greeks head to the polls Sunday in their most critical and uncertain election in decades, with voters set to punish the two main parties that are being held responsible for the country's dire economic straits. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
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A Pakistani worker decorates a canal with artificial flowers, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, May 7, 2012. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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Donated kits on display as part of the LV= SOS Kit Aid celebrating and Aldwinians RUFC's 75th anniversary.
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Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic - Ewood Park -An chicken wearing a Blackburn Rovers cape interferes with the game (PA)
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Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic - Ewood Park, A plane displays a banner from Burnley fans above Ewood Park before the game
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A South Korean worker attaches a devotee's name tag with their wishes on a lantern, in the preparation for the birthday celebration of Buddha, which falls on May 28, at Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 8, 2012. About one-third of South Korea's 48 million people are Buddhists. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
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Ronnie O' Sullivan in action during the SAGA Insurance Masters 2007 Final at Wembley Arena, London.Picture date: Sunday, January 21, 2007. Photo credit should read: Chris Young/PA Wire.
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A baby monkey clings to the leg of her mother in a park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, May 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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A prisoner rests his arms in the wall of his cell during a Mass for prisoners in the courtyard of La Esperanza penal center in San Salvador, El Salvador, Monday, May 7, 2012. The prisoners asked for Monsignor Fabio Colindres to hold a Mass for them at the prison. (AP Photo/Luis Romero)
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A tall steel cross is refracted in rain drops on a window in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 7, 2012. The cross is all that is left standing of St. Mary's Catholic Church, which was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado that tore through a large swath of the city and killed 161 people nearly a year ago. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)