BULAWAYO – Two more women have been raped at a maternity waiting home at Maphisa District Hospital in Matabeleland South where three other expecting mothers were targeted in July, police said.
Staff at the hospital are reported to be horrified by the repeat attack, amid fears the pregnant women are being raped for ritualistic purposes.
Sources at the hospital said three men carrying machetes entered a room where three women were sleeping at around 3AM on Saturday.
“They were carrying machetes. Two of the expecting mothers were raped,” a nurse said.
Due to long distances to the hospital, women from remote parts of the district spend the final few weeks and days before child birth at maternity waiting facilities like the one at Maphisa.
The nurse said following the earlier attack in July, during which three women were raped by two men who entered through a window that had been left open, the hospital had put burglar bars on windows and also changed the locking mechanism on doors. The new locking system had a sliding bolt which the women could use to secure themselves from inside.
The hospital, which is ringed by a fence, also has guards at the gate.
“Unfortunately, while locks were changed for all the other rooms, this particular room’s locking system was not. The rapists went in through the door and used their machetes to frighten the women. It’s a particularly difficult moment for everyone here,” added the nurse who cannot be named as they were not cleared to speak to the media.
ZimLive has heard accounts that one of the men was overheard saying “I don’t like to do it, but I have to do it” – promoting the idea that the sex attacks are part of a ritual.
“We all know who uses machetes. It’s gold panners. We now suspect that they think if you sleep with a pregnant woman your luck of finding gold increases. There’s really no other explanation for this,” a hospital official said.
Zimbabwe’s forensic investigative capacity is poor, although swabs from both incidents were collected. DNA analysis can confirm if the two attacks are related – but Zimbabwe has no DNA bank, although the rape kit samples can be compared if police develop a suspect.
Inspector Loveness Mangena of Matabeleland South police said: “Our investigating officers are still on the ground conducting the necessary investigations.”
Dr Rudo Chikodzore, the Matabeleland South provincial medical director, added: “The raping of women has been an issue in Maphisa and around the district. There has been a multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence and sexual assault involving the police and the local authority.
“Police are doing patrols around the growth point. We continue to urge the community to avoid travelling at night to avoid being mugged or raped.”
