A Malawian court has ruled that Eric Aniva also known as “Hyena” has flouted the laws of the country and has a case to answer.
Aniva, who was paid to deflower over 100 girls was found guilty on charges of practicing harmful cultural norms contrary to Section 5 subsections 1 and 2 of the Gender Act of 2013, local news portal Malawi24.com reports.
He shall remain in police custody until November 18 when the court will deliver its final ruling on the case.
Aniva has been denied bail on several times since he was arrested on July 25, 2016 with the prosecution saying the 45-year-old — who has said he is infected with the AIDS virus — was likely to jump bail and cross the border into Mozambique.
Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika ordered his arrest after Aniva made a confession during an interview with BBC that he defiled over 100 virgins as part of initiation rites into womanhood.
Sex with a person under the age of 16 has been criminalized in the southern African nation and his confession drew a lot of condemnation from rights groups who called for the authorities to prosecute him.
Malawi has one of the highest HIV infections in the world but the little-known local practice of having sex with adolescent girls to mark their passage to womanhood is performed in the country by men known as “hyenas” at the instruction of a girl’s parents after her first menstruation.
