The Sunday Mail
Forward Nyanyiwa recently in Kadoma
Finding ourselves in a local bar during a recent familiarisation tour in Kadoma, we saw a middle-aged man with blood-shot eyes enter the bar in a rehearsed staggering gait.
He headed straight to the counter where there were three ladies.
However, his baggy trousers exposed his true state of consciousness as he kept on adjusting “something” from within.
It was a machete!
Soon, a scuffle ensued as the man dragged one of the ladies out. Although she was resisting, the lady’s energy was no match for her assailant.
They were immediately swallowed by the winter darkness.
The other two ladies could only look with dread and wait for their own fate.
After a while, the man came back and dragged another lady out.
As newsmen, we had to approach the remaining lady and she opened up, although jittery.
“That guy is armed. He is part of the dangerous ‘maShurugwi’ group who have been terrorising this area with machetes and slashers.
“They frequent this area for free sex and most often they don’t want protection. They threaten us with death and one can bed as many as four ladies per night.
“The situation is risky for us because if you offer them condoms for that free sex, they turn them down,” said the lady, who later revealed her name as Nyasha.
As the night wore on, more machete-wielding men flooded the bar and would lay their hands on any lady of their choice.
However, the situation is even more rampant at Venice Gold Mine, situated just 34km from Kadoma. At the mine, ladies come from far afield as Harare and Bulawayo to sleep on an open space at the mine.
Sheila (27), a commercial sex worker at the mine narrated: “There is a lot happening at the mine and we are living by the grace of God. These men with machetes can come with money and ask for sex and if you offer them condoms, they slash the price. If you are lucky you can get the slashed charge but you risk not getting a cent after the act.”
Sheila said they have been using female condoms, which they put on in preparation of any sexual encounter, but the amakorokoza usually remove them.
The sex workers end up having to wash themselves using soda after unprotected sexual encounters – probably providing themselves with a false sense of security.
“We normally use female condoms but since these men will be drunk, the condoms are pulled off. We then clean ourselves using soda after every sexual encounter. We really hope that this prevents the transmission of STIs,” she said.
Mr Audrich Mathole (35), who attended a National Aids Council workshop in Kadoma, is an artisanal miner.
He said the situation at Venice Mine is exposing everyone to HIV infection.
“The problem is that both these guys and the ladies will be drunk. Whatever money they get, they buy drugs and although some are harassed into sex, some agree because they know each other.
“It’s a vicious circle because they exchange sexual partners everyday. Some of the ladies come here to sell their wares but they end up having these sex escapades with different men,” he said.
Mr Mathole, who is now a peer educator at the mine, said they have been spreading the message about HIV/Aids and distributing condoms but the situation is worsening by the day.
“We do give them information about HIV and Aids and even distribute condoms, but as long as these guys with machetes are in town, there will always be unprotected sex all over,” he added.
Asked why the ladies do not report the cases to police, Mr Themba Mazibuko (38), another NAC peer educator chipped in: “The problem is that these ladies come here to earn a living. They can’t afford to report these cases, lest their clients starts shunning the area.”
Mr Norman Mhiripiri (36), another artisanal miner, said they do not get sex for free. He said they pay in forex, adding that they cannot condomise after paying in forex.
“I can’t wear a condom after paying in US dollars. This money is hard to come by and, after all, it is riskier to enter the shafts than having unprotected sex. We are dead already,” he boastfully said.
The NAC district Aids co-ordinator for Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mr Vakai Matutu, said the HIV prevalence rate is slightly going up at the moment.
“The HIV prevalence rate is slightly going up. It has risen from around 14 percent to 15,2 percent for Sanyati and for Mhondoro it’s around 13,6 percent from around 12 percent as at year ending 2018. The number of people being commenced on ART is going up,” he said.
Rimuka Clinic sister-in-charge, Mrs Stella Manyere, concurred that they are seeing an increase in the number of people being started on anti-retroviral therapy.
“As at the end of April 2019, we had 5 102 patients on ART from 4 763 patients in December last year. Even the number of our positives is going up as compared to last year,” she said.
However, Mr Matutu said they have a cocktail of interventions being undertaken to contain the situation.
“We are doing a number of activities, from giving condoms, HIV/Aids education, support groups and the initiating of drugs. We have a mobile team which visits the mine to engage the miners and sex workers, giving them services. They also access services at Donain Clinic, which is near the area,” he said.
NAC communications officer, Mrs Tadiwa Nyatanga-Pfupa, echoed the same sentiments, saying they will not leave anyone behind.
“We will continue giving our utmost support as we move in line with the Government’s mission of not leaving anyone behind. We will win the HIV/Aids war,” she said.
“In accordance with the World Aids Campaign theme ‘Know Your Status’, Zimbabwe has broadened it by encouraging people to know not only their HIV status but also their TB, Cancer, Diabetes and STI status. As for HIV, those that are positive also need to know their viral load and CD4 status to see whether they are responding to treatment.”
