As a quasi-expert on magical genital theft,/koro ad genital retraction syndrome AND as a former resident of Tanzania, I was surprised to see that penis panics have now spread east across the continent from Nigeria.

Recently there have been incidents in four distant parts of the country–one by Lake Victoria, one near the coast, one near Lake Tanganyika, and another on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Unfortunately, at least one person has been killed:

On Sunday, Rukwa Regional Police arrested 25 suspects in connection with the murder of Henry Myuwanga, a 50-year-old primary school teacher…According to Rukwa Regional Police Commander Shadrack Masija, the attack occurred at around 8:30 pm, after a dispute over the price of liquid soap that Myuwanga was selling. A young shopkeeper, Clement Simchimba, still at large, allegedly accused the teacher of ‘grabbing him and causing his genitals to disappear,’ which enraged villagers.

Authorities are calling for a stop to the “hoax,” but it’s not a hoax if you truly believe your penis is missing. The power of stories and culture here is at its height.

Fortunately, according to one story:

“After thorough investigations, every person who accused someone of removing their private parts was examined by specialists. All checks confirmed that their private parts were intact. This is pure fabrication and such falsehoods have already led to loss of life,” he said.

If you want to know more about magical penis theft, check out The Geography of Madness: Penis Thieves, Voodoo Death, and the Search for the Meaning of the World’s Strangest Syndromes