Zimbabwe: Massage Parlour Cover Leads to Human Trafficking Arrest in Harare

4 February 2026
263Chat (Harare)
By Judith Nyuke

A 32-year-old woman appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Court after being accused of harbouring four Zambian female nationals whom she exploited for prostitution under the pretext of working in a massage parlour.

Christina Mafudza (32) appeared before Harare magistrate Jesse Kufa facing charges of contravening Section 3(1)(b)(i) of the Trafficking in Persons Act.

The matter was remanded to 5 February.

The State, led by Oscar Madhume, alleges that on February 2, 2026, at approximately 2:00 PM members of the ZRP License Inspectorate received a tip-off regarding human trafficking victims at 18 Fereday Drive, Eastlea, Harare.

Acting on this information, officers proceeded to the address and located the victims who were being harboured by Mafudza.

The victims, all Zambian nationals were rescued and placed in the care of the Department of Social Welfare at the Harare Repatriation Centre.

Two of the victims are aged 20 while the remaining two are 23 years old.

Mafudza, who holds the lease agreement for the premises was subsequently arrested.

Read the original article on 263Chat.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 263Chat. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.