A 19-year-old man from Muzarabani village outside Beit Bridge was sexually abused by two unknown women before they robbed him of his cell phone, clothes and academic certificates. They then tied him to a tree.

The victim, a carpenter, had just arrived in Beit Bridge from Muzarabani Village, following an invitation from a friend, who had promised to offer him a job. Local police spokesperson, Chief Supt Lawrence Chinhengo, confirmed the incident, which occurred on Thursday last week at around 19:00.

“The man was with his friend at a local service station, when the two women arrived, driving a green Toyota Prado. They asked the victim’s friend to buy them food from a nearby food outlet. They then bundled the victim into their car and drove off at high speed towards Mawale Village.

“After driving for about 10km, they stopped the vehicle and one of the women then ordered the man to have sex with her friend,” he said. At first, the victim resisted until a male suspect accompanying the two women assaulted him with a log on the back; he then had sex with the woman.

“The victim had a gruelling sexual encounter with the woman for about an hour, after which the suspects took the used condom containing his semen,” Chinhengo said. The suspects detained the victim until the early hours of the following morning. They then stripped him naked and took his clothes. They also robbed him of his Nokia cell phone and academic certificates. The suspects left the man shivering in the cold and drove away towards Beit Bridge. The suspects, believed to be aged between 25 and 30, are still at large.

“The victim managed to find his way to the police station, where he reported the matter to us and we have since launched a hunt for the suspects. We are appealing to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the three suspects to contact the nearest police station. We continue to urge people to be wary of such people, following an increase in such cases across the country,” he said.