Zimbabwean police believe that there is a nationwide syndicate of women raping men, possibly to use their semen for use in rituals that claim to make people wealthy

Three women are to go on trial in the capital, Harare, over the allegations which have shocked the country. One victim, who wished to remain anonymous, gave an account on national television in July 2011 of his experience which happened after he was offered a lift by a group of three women in Harare. "One of the women threw water in my face and they injected me with something that gave me a strong sexual desire," he said. "They stopped the car and made me have sex with each of them several times, using condoms. When they had finished they left me in the bush totally naked. Some people gathering grass helped me by calling the police, who took me to hospital to deal with the effects of this drug that I had been given, as the urge to have sex was still there." The women due in court have been charged on 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault - as Zimbabwean law does not recognise the act of a woman raping a man. They were detained in the central town of Gweru, 170 miles south-west of Harare, after officers found 31 used condoms in the car that they were travelling in. The women deny the charges, saying they are prostitutes and were too busy at the time to dispose of the condoms. After being released on bail, they were confronted and threatened by a crowd. They say that they have been forced to remain at home since then, to avoid unwanted attention. Police spokesperson Superintendent Andrew Phiri said that they believe that there is a syndicate operating nationwide. "We have received reports from around the country from different towns and provinces, it's been happening on the highways," he said. "We are yet to find out the real reason why this is happening. We have heard speculation that it's linked to rituals." The semen is believed to be used in rituals to bring success in business, and there are suggestions that the semen is being taken outside the country for sale. But cultural expert and sociology lecturer Claude Mararikei said that it was not clear how the semen would be used. "It's in the area of rituals and magic, which border on secret societies," he said. "Even researchers don't want to go into that area because you may not come out alive to publish whatever you find out."