On 28 October 2024, readers of Mali’s Bamada.net were treated to a truly bizarre headline : reports that men in the Central African Republic (CAR) were losing their manhood — literally. The strange phenomenon, known clinically as Koro or Genital Retraction Syndrome, is a well-documented psychosocial condition. But in parts of Africa, it takes on a distinct and disturbing form: ‘penis theft’. The story is always the same: a man claims his penis has disappeared or shrunk after a handshake or a