Twin Zimbabwean brothers arrested for wearing loincloths have agreed to end their shocking campaign for traditional dress and wear shirts and shorts

Steve Vickers:

Tafadzwanashe and Tapiwanashe Fichani were charged with indecent exposure after walking around in goatskin kilts, which left their buttocks exposed.

They spent two weeks in prison, where their mental states were evaluated.

The much-publicised case has reignited the debate over traditional versus western dress in Zimbabwe.

The brothers were arrested while wearing the nhembe loincloths on their daily walk to a shopping centre near their home in an upmarket suburb of the capital, Harare.

Since their release, their father has been shielding them from the media.

But prior to their arrest, the 22-year-olds said that they had received a calling from God to give up their western clothing when they were living in the UK.

They had spent two years studying there, but left after Tafadzwanashe was arrested on fraud allegations and deported.

The brothers said that those who look down on them for their decision were "mentally colonised", as they were just going back to how things were before Europeans arrived in Africa.

The twins also shunned chairs and beds and sat and slept only on the floor.

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