'How women rapists harvested my sperm'

A MAN who was raped at gunpoint by three well-dressed South African women intent on harvesting his sperm Monday described the 'disbelief, shock and pain' at falling victim to such a bizarre attack.

The 33-year-old from Zimbabwe, who is now too scared to leave his home, sobbed as he told of the sustained attack in South Africa a week ago.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was walking in the Kwazakhele township, Port Elizabeth just before 8am when the evil trio pulled up in a black BMW and asked him for directions.

As he began to speak, one of the women put a gun to his head and ordered him into the car.

'We only drove for a few minutes to a quieter place where they did what they wanted to do to me,' he said in a faltering voice, taking regular breaks to cry.

'They told me that they didn't want my money or to hurt me, they said "what we want from you is your semen". I couldn't understand what they were saying to me, it didn't make sense.

'Then I soon knew that they were very serious and I felt very scared and just could not do what they wanted me to do.

'One of them, she was the youngest one, started to get angry with me and screamed and shouted at me. One of the other women told her to stop frightening me as I would not be able to get an erection if I was scared.'

The victim said one of the women was speaking in isiXhosa - one of South Africa's 11 official languages - and the other two spoke in English. Each was wearing a long gown.

When I couldn't do what they ordered me to do, they got some powder from one of their handbags and emptied it into a plastic bottle of water and mixed it,' he explained.

'It didn't taste of anything strong. They made me take that drink five times. I was with them for about 40 minutes in total.

'Once they had got all the semen they could get from me, which they collected in a bag, they packed it in a cooler box.

 'Then they just shouted at me to get out of the car and drove away fast. I was in a lot of pain and shock. I still am.'

One of the officers investigating the man's story said the semen may have been stolen for use as 'muti' - traditional medicine.

Constable Mncedi Mbombo said: 'We have no idea why anyone would do this. Taking the sperm for muti is a possible motive that we will consider.

'There can be a demand for sperm in traditional medicines. The potion the women gave this man to make him stronger possibly may also have been some muti they had prepared, or bought for this purpose.

'I have experience in investigating other muti crimes, where private parts were stolen for witchcraft, but this is the first time I have heard of semen being stolen.

'We are looking at links with other reported crimes that have similarities.'

The quiet, well-spoken, smartly-dressed victim, sells brooms and other household items door-to-door to raise funds to send back to his parents and siblings in Zimbabwe, where jobs opportunities under despot Robert Mugabe are scarce.

He is unmarried and has no children of his own. He claims that since the attack almost a week ago, he has hardly dared to leave the room he rents the township on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth.

He added: 'I haven't told anyone about what happened to me, only the police. How can I tell any friends about this? Or my family at home? I am fortunate that I just live alone and can suffer without speaking of it.

'I am now on pain medication, but I feel scared to go on the street in case something else bad happens to me.

'I don't know if the police will find these women, I don't understand why they did what they did but they have got away with it.

'I am trying to stay positive and just focus on feeling thankful that I am still alive. But what they did was very wrong and I hope that god will punish them, I hope he is the one who will deal with them.'

Abdul Karifa, who has been practising as a traditional healer for more than 20 years, said semen was a regular ingredient in muti [traditional medicine] potions.

'Semen is most often used for patients who want to have something fixed, or reinstated,' he said.

'They may have lost a relationship, or some money in a deal that went wrong, or a job.

'For those sort of issues, I prescribe semen as a base ingredient and mix it with a powder made from herbs.'

He added: 'I don't know why somebody would have to use violence to steal semen, I have not known there to be a problem with supply.'

A handful of similar crimes have been reported in Johannesburg, more than 1000 miles from Port Elizabeth, a coastal town at the end of South Africa's famous Garden Route.

However, in the victim's native Zimbabwe, which borders South Africa, sensational reports have emerged in recent years about gangs of women targeting male victims in order to harvest their sperm.

Reports of women using drugs, guns, knives and even a live snake to overpower their prey first surfaced six years ago, but only a handful of arrests have ever been made.

In 2012, three women were picked up by police and found in possession of 31 full condoms following attacks on 17 men.

Professor Anthony Minnar, from the School of Criminal Justice at the University of South Africa, is an expert on crimes associated with African traditional medicine  - or witchcraft as it is sometimes called.

He said: 'Body parts are taken from people murdered for the purposes of preparing strong muti by sangomas [traditional healers] who obviously can charge more for those types of medicines.

'Although I have not heard of semen being stolen, I imagine sangomas might be able to charge more from their clients if they can say that live human specimens are being used that make it strong muti.

'Human elements are worth more financially to the sangomas than just animal or plan elements.'