A man who says he has been paid to have sex with more than 100 adolescent girls in Malawi has been arrested.

The sexual initiation is part of a traditional "cleansing" ritual in the southern part of the country, and is carried out by men known as "hyenas".

It is aimed at training the girls to become "good wives" and to protect them from disease, but it is blamed for spreading AIDS.

President Peter Mutharika ordered the arrest of "hyena" Eric Aniva, after he gave an interview to the media confessing to being infected with HIV.

Image: President Mutharika ordered the arrest of Eric Aniva

Aniva said he had slept with more than 100 virgin girls without protection, some of them as young as 12.


He was paid between three and five pounds by each of the girls' families, he said, who asked him to sleep with their daughters after their first menstruation to mark their passage to womanhood.

"I order police to immediately arrest Mr Eric Aniva, investigate him and take him to court forthwith for defilement cases," said President Mutharika.

He added that Aniva should "be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly."

And he has ordered an inquiry into the role of parents, saying "harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted."

If found guilty of underage sex, Aniva could be jailed for life.

The sexual cleansing ritual by a "hyena" is also performed on bereaved widows in Nsanje district to exorcise villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring.

Aniva told the BBC a "hyena" was selected by the community based on is good morals, and that custom did not allow him to use condoms.

"All these girls find pleasure in having me as their 'hyena'," he said. "They actually are proud."

Malawi has one of the highest HIV infections in the world. The country outlaws sex with anyone aged under 16.