Malawi police have arrested an HIV-infected man who was paid to have sex with more than 100 adolescent girls as part of a traditional ritual marking their passage to womanhood, officials said Tuesday.
Eric Aniva, from the southern district of Nsanje, was held after giving a media interview confessing to have slept with the girls for a fee of between four and seven dollars, paid by each of their families.
Watch video: Shocking! HIV-Positive Man Allowed To Have Sex With Virgin Teens In Malawi
The little-known local practice lasts three days and is performed in southern Malawi by men known as "hyenas" at the request of a girl's parents after her first menstruation.
The ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them from disease or misfortune that could fall on their families or their village.
"Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to my office," district commissioner Gift Lapozo told AFP.
In a BBC interview broadcast last week, Aniva confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with at least 100 girls without using protection.
Malawian President Peter Mutharika had earlier issued a statement ordering Aniva's arrest and calling for an inquiry into the role of the parents involved.
Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises sex with a person under the age of 16.
If found guilty of underage sex, Aniva could be imprisoned for life.
Eric Aniva, from the southern district of Nsanje, was held after giving a media interview confessing to have slept with the girls for a fee of between four and seven dollars, paid by each of their families.
Watch video: Shocking! HIV-Positive Man Allowed To Have Sex With Virgin Teens In Malawi
The little-known local practice lasts three days and is performed in southern Malawi by men known as "hyenas" at the request of a girl's parents after her first menstruation.
The ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them from disease or misfortune that could fall on their families or their village.
"Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to my office," district commissioner Gift Lapozo told AFP.
In a BBC interview broadcast last week, Aniva confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with at least 100 girls without using protection.
Malawian President Peter Mutharika had earlier issued a statement ordering Aniva's arrest and calling for an inquiry into the role of the parents involved.
Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises sex with a person under the age of 16.
If found guilty of underage sex, Aniva could be imprisoned for life.