A 34-year-old South African man on a visit to the Eastern Highlands in Zimbabwe was sexually abused and robbed by three women last week, the police have said.

The victim was robbed of his pair of shoes, a passport, a Samsung Galaxy 4 cellphone, a bag which contained clothes and US$1 000.

Police spokesperson Sr Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said the victim, from Mafikeng in North West, boarded a bus soon after his arrival at Beit Bridge border post. “Along the way, he befriended an unidentified woman and on arrival in the Eastern Highlands, the two got off at a local bus terminus and were picked up by two women and a man in a white Toyota. They then drove to a local bar to have some drinks, and later the victim was offered accommodation by the woman from the bus," she added.

It is alleged that the suspects then drove towards a bushy area where the tourist was ordered out of the vehicle and was forced to have sex with the three women at knifepoint. “After the act, he was assaulted by the unknown suspects. He was ordered to surrender all his belongings and the cash. He complied and the suspects drove off,” Charamba said.

A report was made to the police and investigations are still in progress.

“As police we continue to urge people, especially visitors, to be wary of strangers. They should not entertain them as they risk being attacked and robbed. We are, however, still investigating and we are also appealing to community members to assist us with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects,” said the police spokesperson.

Of late there has been an increase in the number of such incidents. Recently, another 33-year-old local man was forced to drink an unknown substance by three women, who later took turns to have sex with him.