The Sunday Mail
RESIDENTS of Murambinda growth point in Buhera and surrounding areas are now scared of walking in bushy areas for fear of sexual attacks by a rare serial rapist who targets both men and women.
Even bathing in nearby rivers now raises discomfort.
The mere mention of Panganai Tagwena’s name sends shivers down the spine of many residents in the area.
Tangwena, of Tavangwena Village under Chief Makumbe, is allegedly a notorious sex predator who has made life hell on earth for the Murambinda community.
As a result of the merciless attacks, villagers are living in constant fear.
The 26-year-old former club wheel-spinner at a local night spot has turned into a suspected monstrous rapist. He is unleashing a reign of terror with magnitudes of gothic proportions, leaving a wave of shock.
Mostly clad in female attire and at times in white garments similar to those of the apostolic sect members, the ex-dj is alleged to have pounced on unsuspecting victims, with the largest number of his victims being males.
Police have confirmed that the rapist is on the loose.
Many within the Murambinda community believe the suspected rapist is using juju or Satanism.
A number of his victims have complained of drowsiness after a ‘magical bite’ on the back side, which renders them powerless and enables the sexually depraved rapist to quench his insatiable thirst for canal perversion.
Tangwena’s former workmate at the popular night club identified as Mona said: “His way of raping seems to be unique, as all who have suffered at his hands, both male and female, have acknowledged that the violation of the anal is his favourite pastime.
“Even when he sexually abuses a woman, he does not actually do it the normal way, instead he opts for anal sex.
“Word is that he sometimes employs the use of a small stick to beat the victim’s inner thighs, which weakens his prey.”
These occultist-like executions have cemented the juju-Satanism explanation.
Trust Tangwena, a cousin to the fugitive suspected serial rapist, said Tangwena does not discriminate when it comes to his choice of sexual violation as he and three of his other siblings recently survived Tangwena’s sexual assaults.
Trust added that after hearing noise from one of the huts at their homestead, he sought to investigate.
“To my horror, my three siblings were being shepherded into the hut, about to be abused, and when I sought to intervene, I was also immediately apprehended.
“Instead with the help of my younger siblings, we fiercely fought the sexual predator and when he realised that we were almost matching him pound for pound, he then resorted to biting,” he explained.
The cousin said Tangwena is also a speedy escapee when cornered.
He added: “Despite his small build, he has enormous power that can match even two elephants and when he attacks, he drifts into a trance-like seizure,” he said.
Another victim who survived the attack, Joe Mutetwa, had to make a suicidal jump into a bridge to escape from being pummelled from the rear.
“After being attacked with clenched fists and booted feet, I had to make a choice on whether to be abused or to jump into the bridge, of which I opted for the latter,” he said.
Sources close to the developments in the area say close to a dozen people have fallen victim.
A senior police officer at Murambinda Police Station who declined to be named for professional reasons confirmed the unusual occurrences.
“Since most of the victims are male, many of the said victims have failed to come forward and report these cases for fear of being stigmatised and the general societal ‘ego’ attached to males reporting sexual abuse,” she said.
However, Murambinda Police Station Officer-in-Charge Chief Inspector Gorden Sibanda confirmed that they had received reports of “men” who were attacked by Tangwena.
“It is true that we are dealing with such a case. We got the first report on August 31.
“He was reported to have committed aggravated indecent assault. It appears he has specific tactics he employs when carrying out his shenanigans.
“At one point, he is said to have seen an 18-year-old bathing along the river and attacked him. The young victim was admitted at Murambinda Mission Hospital after he was allegedly sodomised by Tangwena.
“We also got another report on September 2 when he met his male neighbour who was on his way home. Tangwena is said to have approached him and started molesting him. However, the neighbour was lucky to escape before Tangwena had accomplished his mission, but he had managed to identify him.
“He allegedly bit his ‘prey’ on both breasts and on his back. There were visible scars on the victims.
“When this guy came to make a report, it took less than an hour for another male victim to come to report a similar case.
“Last week, we got another report from a woman who was gathering firewood in the bush in the company of her mother.
“He is said to have tried to attack the woman until the mother threatened him with an axe and he ran away,” he said.
But, the police are clueless on how to apprehend Tangwena as he continues on his unholy mission.
Police sources say although they intensified night patrols, they have tried in vain to raid his home and all his hiding places.
“We are also embarking on campaigns to alert the public in the residential areas.
“Even the way he escapes after being seen in public is a puzzle to us. We have tried all the tricks in the book,” said Chief Insp Sibanda.
Efforts to locate Panganai’s parents proved fruitless.
