A 16-YEAR-OLD girl was offered US$500 if she would agree to have her hand CHOPPED OFF and used for ritual purposes, a Harare court heard.
Police have charged three businessmen with kidnapping over allegations they kidnapped the girl and kept her locked in a room for three days before she finally escaped.
Ishmael Chitunhu, 46, Abel Dzinzi, 34, and Fanuel Dzapasi – who own a retail shop – are accused luring the girl to Dzinzi’s house in Harare under the pretext that she would be hired as a shop assistant on July 8.
Prosecutor Cuthbert Mukandire alleged the men’s real intention was more sinister – they wanted to coerce the girl into allowing her hand to be chopped off for use in rituals believed to boost business.
After the girl refused the men’s financial offer, she was beaten up, had her phone seized by Dzapasi and had her mouth smeared with paint before being locked in a room for three days, Harare regional magistrate Peter Kumbawa heard on Wednesday.
The girl finally managed to escape and made a report to the police.
All three men deny the charges. They were remanded in custody to August 4.