Gokwe Nemangwe community have been left in a state of shock after news broke forth of a woman who was forced to make love to her dead husband (necrophilia) before burial as per the deceased’s demand, was found now pregnant.
This came to light at the weekend pending DNA tests, after the sisters of the late Nemangwe man announced to their close relatives on discovery of the unusual situation that has left villagers tongue tied. The woman identified as Sarah Simirayi, of Svisvi village under chief Nemangwe, left her husband for a heavy truck driver sometime two years ago, and returned when her boyfriend ditched her for another new lover.
Sarah who has been away for a couple of years, returned only to find her 68 year old husband stressed from her departure, and died a few weeks of her return.
The late husband Nunurayi Musamo, who was also a former soldier, in the Rhodesian army left a note that he wanted read at his funeral, and that letter contained a message that he died of missing his beloved wife and also that he would need to make love to her before burial.
The shocking message was delivered to Sarah who tried to resist, but later accepted the most difficult task.
This reporter managed to interview Sarah who preferred not to be pictured, and she said, “I went to a pharmacy at the town centre and bought some pregnancy test materials, which tested positive thereby confirming I am pregnant. I am yet to go for scanning so that I will be in a position to know if the baby is a boy or a girl.”
A source close to the family claims that the husband’s manhood was in full erection, after they opened the coffin and Sarah removed her underwear, before going on top of the corpse to insert the late husband’s manhood, in the view of the late husband’s two sisters, who were ululating, as a gesture of appeasing the spirit of the late Musamo.
Asked how she felt after the said “sexual encounter” with her dead husband on the fateful day, Simirayi told ZimEye, “I felt the sperms moving in my body as if my late husband did when he was still alive. I think I also need to consult prophets and traditional healers; I am now confused as to what will happen to this pregnancy,” she said.
A source who refused to be named added voice claiming to ZimEye that the dead man ejaculated, soon after the penetration, and the erection disappeared, leading to the body viewing and subsequent burial of the man.
This reporter visited the Svisvi village head and he admitted receiving that information, but opted to down play it. “This is a purely private issue that traditional leaders cannot dwell upon. People have their own cultures and values and that must be respected,” he said before ordering this journalist not to take any photos of him, if he wanted to come back for more stories next time.
When ZimEye visited the two families, Musamo and Simirayi, they were engaged in serious talks on the future of Sarah. They also promised to come back with a comment as soon as they finalise the required cultural ceremonies.
This reporter has made a strict request to the family so that DNA tests can be conducted as soon as the baby has been born in order to confirm the veracity of the pregnancy claim.