THREE women held on suspicion of being ritualistic serial rapists have told detectives they are hookers who are so busy they had no time to dispose of the 31 semen-containing condoms found in their possession.
Rosemary Chakwizira, 24, Sophie Nhokwara, 26, and Netsai Nhokwara, 24, were seized by police on Sunday in what investigators say is their first major break in a two-year investigation into a string of sex attacks on male hitchhikers.
The trio were transferred from the Midlands town of Gweru to the capital Harare on Thursday as police arranged an identity parade for more than a dozen victims.
Investigators also applied for a court warrant to extend the women’s detention period. Suspects can be held for 48 hours, at which point they must be charged or released, although courts can give police more time.
Midlands Provincial police spokesman Inspector Patrick Chademana said: “Our investigations are continuing. I can confirm that all three suspects are now in Harare to afford victims an opportunity to pick their attackers.”
For two years, police have suspected the attacks, mainly in Masvingo, the Midlands and Harare provinces were the work of twisted sperm-harvesting syndicates.
Their semen is then harvested. Most victims report that they were robbed of their possessions and dumped on roadsides.
The bizarre behaviour has puzzled detectives.
Watch Ruparanganda, a professor of sociology at the University of Zimbabwe, said sperm was associated with the regeneration of life, which would translate into business growth.
“People believe that sperms can make someone’s luck improve,” he said, adding that unscrupulous businessmen were behind the attacks.
Semen was “selling like hot cakes” in neighbouring South Africa where a condom full could fetch as much as US$400.
Investigators got a lucky break when Shophie Nhokwara’s boyfriend, who has not been named, ran over and killed a pedestrian along the Gweru-Lower Gweru road while driving her red Chevrolet Aveo.