Harare - A Zimbabwean man has been arrested for chopping off his sister’s head and selling it to a local businessman.

Twenty-year-old Isaac Mashonga beheaded his 40-year-old sister Dadirai early on Friday morning in Zvipani, northern Zimbabwe, after a local businessman offered him $4 000 for a human head.

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi told state radio that the unnamed businessman needed the head "to boost his business".

"Mashonga then chopped off his sister's head after killing her with an axe at around 02:00 on Friday," the ZBC said.

Mashonga delivered the head to the businessman but was arrested "after he was spotted in a blood-drenched shirt".

Human body parts

It wasn't immediately clear if the businessman had also been arrested.

Ritual killings are an all too common occurrence in the country. Some unscrupulous operators here believe that human body parts can work as charms to make their businesses more profitable.

Late last month a 22-year old man from the southern town of Gwanda was arrested after he was found in possession of the head and genitals of a homeless man. The suspect, Honest Moyo claimed he’d been offered $25 000 for body parts from a local businessman.

In a video testimony shared by state media, Moyo said his victim was dead when he found him and "I took what I wanted".

And in February, reports said a 22-year-old man from southern Zimbabwe was arrested for allegedly killing his 12-year-old brother to help him get rich and find a beautiful woman to marry, a Chronicle report said.