People in Zimbabwe have started selling their toes for thousands of dollars. This is due to the high cost of living and the government's failure to create jobs. The larger toes were reportedly purchased for $40,000 (16 million naira) while the smaller ones were purchased for $20,000 (16 million naira) (8 million USD).
People are selling their toes for ritual money, according to a theme trending on social media platforms. Poverty and the desire for quick and easy money are the driving forces behind most people.
According to many Ximex boys, the most common motivation is to be able to buy a Toyota GD6 truck, which costs between $25,000 and $70,000. This has caused quite a stir in the Harare CBD, where most big cities have fewer or no toes depending on passion for money.
Is it true that anyone can sell their toes and make money right away, or are we being fooled? It sounds strange, but it's a topic that's taking the nation's social networking sites by storm.
Have we really hit rock bottom as a people and believe that we don't have to work for money and would rather give our toes to a South African sangoma? Since it was revealed last Thursday that local traders, particularly at the Ximex mall in the capital, could no longer walk, social media has been flooded with these stories.
In one of the circulating news items, there are even unconfirmed prices for the big toe ($40,000), middle toe ($25,000), and pinky toe ($10,000). Some say it is the work of a sect that wants the toes in exchange for ten years of riches, but loses a relative in the process.
Other claims include the requirement that no one else be allowed to see the leg after consenting to having a toe cut off. According to a source close to Ximex, the story began as a joke between co-workers and has since been exaggerated.
I can neither confirm nor deny such activity at the Ximex Mall, but from what I've gathered, it was all exaggerated after some kids joked about it. Yes, some of the new cars that dealerships carry are questionable — imagine a guy struggling to buy his lunch and now driving around in a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz GL400, the source said.
In a voicemail allegedly from one of the donors, he claims the procedure was painless, but he got the shock of his life when maggots sprouted from his leg.