Zimbabwe government says citizens are not selling toes for money

Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Information Kindness Paradza has said that Zimbabweans are not selling their toes for money contrary to the stories on social media platforms. Talking to the press, he declared he had visited Ximex Mall where it was alleged the toe selling business was flourishing but found no such activity taking place there. According to him, this is just a scheme to soil the image of Zimbabwe and should not be taken seriously.

Stories of toes be sold for money were born after a Zimbabwean national took to social networking sites to post a video of himself saying he had sold his toe to buy a Toyota Hilux GD-6 pick-up. He also advised viewers to do same if they wanted wealth. It is also alleged that several WhatsApp groups put up prices of toes with the biggest toe tagged USD 40.000 and the smallest USD 10.000. These toes they say are being taken to South Africa for ritual practices but the Zimbabwe government is now saying no such activity is going on. The deputy minister, however, said that ever since the reports went viral, there was an increase in the number of people visiting the Ximex mall enquiring how they could sell their toes.

Cutting of toes can lead to loss of balance, stability and can change walking biomechanics.