EDITORIAL COMMENT: Be wary of these self-styled prophets

Reports of women being raped at apostolic sect shrines under the guise of spiritual cleansing are very worrying.

After so many reported cases of rape occurring at these shrines, women continue to flock to these fake prophets for so-called spiritual healing or exorcism.

Just how do women continue to fall for this trick in this day and age?

Are they that desperate for deliverance that they just follow the weird instructions of these wolves pretending to be helping them.

Can’t these women see that this is now leading to rape when the fake prophets ask them to undress and smear whatever they give them in their presence.

Surely if whatever muti they give them works, why don’t these prophets ask the women to do all the weird stuff at home.

These criminal fake prophets use the same modus operandi and they take advantage of the women who visit them without the knowledge of their spouses.

If these prophets can really cure child barrenness, why don’t they do it in the presence of the women’s spouses.

Recently, a self-styled prophet, Carlos Mandizvidza, instructed a woman to smear vaseline on her private parts for about 29 minutes.

This was done while, Carlos closed his eyes. 

When he opened his eyes, he claimed the spirit had told him to rub the women’s private parts himself and then raped her.

That he told the woman to rub her privates in his presence should have been a red flag for the woman.

And that the spirit had instructed him to rub the woman’s privates himself was even a bigger red flag, but it’s unfortunate that the woman never saw them.

The woman was threatened that her child would die if he she revealed the rape to anyone.

The woman only disclosed her rape to relatives later but the self-styled prophet had skipped the border.

Another Mabvuku self-styled prophet allegedly raped and impregnated a minor suffering from epilepsy during a prayer session.

Joseph Muchenje, or Madzibaba Gracia, took advantage of the 16-year-old girl’s condition after she went to him for special prayer and cleansing.

Do these self-styled prophets cast a spell on women to lure them into having sexual intercourse at these shrines.

Women should speak out against these criminals violating desperate women that genuinely need help.

But at the same time, they should know that most of these prophets are just criminals preying on women’s desperation.