Stories of men falling prey to female rapists in Zimbabwe have been received with scepticism by many people. This is because victims have not been prepared to come out to tell their stories and there have even been suspicion that some of the stories were made up by men seeking excuses for their own wayward ways. The Standard however, took time last week to track down the female rapists’ latest victim, 48-year-old Chivamba, a teacher from Mashonaland East.
After pleading with him we finally convinced him it would be harmless and in fact a positive social move to tell his story.
His first confession was that he had never believed the stories about female rapists.
“I used to hear it via social media platforms and there was a time in this country when the rumours of female rapists spread like veld fire and I thought they were all a joke.
Little did I know that one day I would be a victim myself. I am confused, traumatised and I feel dejected.”
Chivamba shed tears as he recounted how he was sexually abused for days by two women who had given him a lift from Chitungwiza. He kept saying he prayed every day that the women get caught one day and brought to justice.
The father of four said he was so traumatised by the sexual ordeal he still relives the nightmare. “No man would ever want such an experience and as for me, I would give anything to avoid a repeat, even in a dream.”
Our interview with Chivamba took place at his home in Chitungwiza where we finally caught up with him after several visits to his work place in Macheke yielded nothing as he was off duty and recuperating at home.
My family stays here in Chitungwiza and I was on my way back to Macheke after a weekend visit when this tragedy happened,” Chivamba said. “I usually prefer to use buses when travelling but as fate would have it, that day I flagged down a private car, a BMW and it stopped. The driver told me that he was going to Mutare via Marondera and that was perfect for me. There were three women already in the car, one sitting on the front passenger seat and the other two on the back seat. I got in and sat with the two women at the back and we took off.”
He said everyone was very friendly and the driver seemed to be in a love relationship with the woman sitting with him in the front.
“They were all drinking beer which was in a cooler box and when we got to Ziko shopping centre they stopped to refill. One of the ladies offered me a beer and I politely turned her down since I was not feeling well. I settled for a cascade which she handed over to me,” he recalled.
Chivamba said as they approached the Dema tollgate the driver took the dust road which many other drivers used to avoid paying toll fees. He said by this time he had finished the drink but was strangely feeling dizzy.
“I thought maybe it was the effects of the tablets that I had taken that day since I was having a running stomach. I fell asleep and the next moment I found myself in a small room with a small bed. I screamed but no one came to my rescue.
“My manhood felt itchy and when I looked down I realised I was bruised. I felt weak and I was confused. Then the two women who I was sharing the back seat within the car entered the room. They appeared to be much younger than the one who was seated at the front. They began removing their clothes and told me that they wanted me to have sex with them. I refused but one of them who appeared very drunk produced a pistol and told me that she would not hesitate to kill me.
They tied both my hands, and began caressing me like what happens in a porn movie. They would take turns to suck my manhood and forcibly having sex with me. I was made to take another drink and soon after I had an erection. They would not stop raping me despite my pleas for mercy. One of the women used a condom but the other one wanted unprotected sex,” Chivamba recalled.
The following day the women brought him food but kept him locked up in the small room while masked with a woollen hat. Later in the day they bundled him into their car and they drove for some time before he was dumped along Wedza-Murambinda road.
“That was my first time to be in Wedza. I was assisted by some young men who directed me to Wedza centre where I reported the matter to the police. The police then took me to hospital where I was given treatment for the bruises on my manhood and also medication to prevent infection. I am grateful to the police and the staff at the hospital,” he said.
The medical report seen by this paper says Chivamba sustained injuries on his manhood, suffered chest pains and was put on 30-day medication to prevent him from contracting the HIV virus.
There have been several such cases of women raping men in similar fashion, involving cars and drugs in the past five years.
In 2011, some three Gweru women appeared in court accused of “raping” 17 male hitch hikers and collecting their semen.
The trio of Rosemary Chakwizira and sisters Netsai and Sophie Nhokwara were also found with 31 used condoms containing semen. However, the trio told the courts that they were commercial sex workers who had simply failed to dispose of the used condoms because they were too busy.
They were charged with indecent assault but were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Two months ago, two men reported that they were raped by seven women along Seke Road. The women were reportedly armed with a pistol and drugs that made their victims drowsy but at the same time giving them erections.
A local legal expert who preferred anonymity said at law, there was nothing like “female rapist”.
“There is nothing like a female rapist according to the law. It may only be aggravated indecent assault. Rape involves penetration; men are not penetrated unless a man is penetrated through the anus. In fact, that will not suffice,” the legal expert said.
Female rapists are said to be out to harvest sperms which reportedly fetch a lot of money in South Africa where traditional healers allegedly pay as much as $400 to $600, per ejaculation.
On Wednesday Chivamba will be back at work, teaching, but he says he is not sure he still has the confidence to stand in front of his pupils because of the trauma he went through. He also prays he did not contract HIV.