Gangs of Zimbabwean Sperm Snatchers Are Hunting Travelers

Reports are coming from Zimbabwe of travelers being kidnapped, drugged, threatened, and eventually raped. Horrific, yes. But it’s not exactly what you might expect: The travelers are men, who are being preyed upon by gangs of female sperm snatchers.

It sounds like something from a bad exploitation movie — and it looks like that may indeed happen — but it’s a real phenomenon. Men throughout Zimbabwe are being picked up, force-fed sexual stimulants, and forced into having sex for the sole purpose of harvesting their semen.The only issue is, no one’s really sure what the motive is. It’s thought that the semen might be used for traditional juju rituals, but there’s still a lingering question: Why prey travelers?

The Telegraph has a new piece on the sperm snatchers:

“It’s really an issue which is mind boggling,” said University of Zimbabwe sociologist Watch Ruparanganda, who believes it is a lucrative business. “It’s quite a big mystery. Obviously we know (it is) being used for rituals.” Ruparanganda said he was astonished to discover seven years ago that semen appeared to have become a tradable commodity, while doing research for his doctoral thesis among Harare street youth who told him that businessmen would take them to hotels, give them new clothes and ply them with booze. They were then told to pick a prostitute and to hand over the used condom after sex. “It just shows there’s some big racket somewhere, some big guys driving everything, but they are in the background and using these ladies,” said Ruparanganda. The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association criticised the practice. “We believe that this is a form of witchcraft. So we are totally against the idea,” said spokesman George Kandiyero.

Click through to the Telegraph for comments from a number of frightening travelers, which are alternately absurd and macabre. It’s seriously twisted, yet police have only arrested three women so far (who were found with a plastic bag of 31 used condoms). Yet as frightening as it is, I’ve got to wonder: As news of this spreads to all the weirdos out there, is it going to spark a new class of sex tourism?

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