A Zion Church prophet and a fellow parishioner last week appeared in court facing charges of raping a 16-year-old girl in Gokwe. The girl had visited the prophet so she could be exorcised of evil spirits.
Prophet Renias Mapurisa (64) of Mapurisa village in Muzarabani and Takavingei Mutengwa (80) of Jiri village in Gokwe were not asked to plead to rape when they briefly appeared before Gokwe provincial resident magistrate Mr Shepherd Mjanja. They were both remanded in custody to January 4 and were advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
The court heard that Prophet Mapurisa, was staying at Mutengwa’s homestead having come from Muzarabani to offer his services in the area. The complainant was brought to Mutengwa’s homestead by her parents for prayers as she was reportedly possessed by evil spirits. She stayed there for a month before Mapurisa and Mutengwa allegedly connived to rape her.
One day in the evening, Mutengwa grabbed the girl and took her to Mapurisa’s room where he allegedly locked her in. Prophet Mapurisa, who was already in the room, allegedly raped her once. The girl later made a police report, leading to the pair’s arrest.
Also appearing before the same magistrate was a Kwekwe man who allegedly raped a maid on three different occasions. Tonderai Fana (24) of Imbizo Extension, was not formally charged with three counts of rape. He was also remanded in custody to the same date and advised to apply to the High Court for bail.
Charges against him are that he raped the maid on three occasions between November 24 and 26 after they were left alone at home while his relatives had gone to visit. The matter came to light after the maid advised her friend about the rape and she in turn advised her to report to the police, leading to Fana’s arrest.