Police have arrested three gule wamkulu nyau dancers for allegedly defiling two girls in Chipangali district. This comes barely a week after Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi of the Chewa banned sexual initiations like spouse exchange, commonly known as cidyerano, among other retrogressive cultural practices.

Paramount Chief Gawa Undi identified seven cultural practices which include gule wamkulu, which have been banned to align Chewa customs to modern times.The nyau dancers were arrested after Chief Chanje of the Chewa people in Chipangali district reported the matter to police.
Eastern Province Commissioner of Police Lackson Sakala said the three boys are in police custody.

Mr Sakala said in an interview yesterday that the trio allegedly defiled the two girls in a makeshift structure where they sought refuge after a chase.
He said the girls were picking mangoes in a bush when they saw the nyau dancers, who later pursued them. Mr Sakala said the girls hid in a makeshift structure but were later found and defiled there.

And Chief Chanje handed the two boys on Wednesday around 10:00 hours to Mgubudu police for alleged defilement. The traditional leader said the alleged rape happened on Sunday in Chikako village in his chiefdom.

He said according to the nyau dancers, on the material day, there were three boys and three girls who went to pick mangoes in the bush together.
Chief Chanje said the boys told him that they and the girls are lovers. He said out of the three boys, only two boys participated in raping the girls, while their colleague and another girl were watching.

“We have picked two boys aged 13 and 14 years this morning [Wednesday] for defiling two girls aged 15 and 16 after receiving a report from my indunas,” he said. He said medical reports reveal that only two out of three girls were raped. Chief Chanje is saddened that boys who are supposed to be in school are abusing gule wamkulu to an extent where they rape girls.

He said no nyau dancer is allowed to do mischievous things in the name of gule wamkulu. He said the Chewa tradition is clear on gule wamkulu, which is a nyau sacred performance that has nothing to do with raping girls or women. He said schoolboys should focus on their education and not gule wamkulu. He said the boys do not have his blessings and he called on the police to punish the offenders because the Chewa tradition does not allow gule wamkulu to be used as a channel for defilement.