Eric Aniva from the Nsanje District in the far south of Malawi, confessed publicly to have slept with the girls for a fee of between $4 and $7 paid by each of their families. This little-known local practice is performed in southern Malawi by men known as hyenas at the behest of a girl’s parents after her first menstruation.
According to tradition, the ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them from disease, or misfortune could fall on their families or their village. However, it is blamed for spreading Aids and Mr Aniva himself confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with virgin girls without using protection.
He added: "All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud.”
Mr Aniva said that the girls were as young as 12, adding that a hyena was selected by the community based on good morals and that custom did not allow him to use condoms. Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises sex with a person under the age of 16.
This sexual cleansing ritual by a hyena is also performed on bereaved widows in the Nsanje District to exorcise villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring. However, this is not criminals, so Mr Aniva will only be charged with having sex with minors, which could end with him being imprisoned for life.
Incensed by his actions, President Mutharika said: “I ordered the police to immediately arrest Mr Eric Aniva, investigate him and take him to court forthwith for defilement cases. Mr Aniva should be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly.”
He also ordered an inquiry into the role of parents, saying harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted. As of 2012, approximately 1,100,000 people in Malawi were HIV-positive, which represents 10.8% of the country's population.
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