Online Reporter
THE late Robert Martin Gumbura, who died in August 2021, will always be remembered as the local religious leader who ended up wrapped in a blanket of disgrace when he was jailed for four counts of rape and one count of illegally possessing pornographic material.
He was 64 when he died from COVID complications while serving time at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
He left behind 11 wives and 30 children.
Gumbura was the leader of the RMG Independent End Time Message church.
When he appealed against both conviction and sentence, the High Court ruled that his conviction was correctly arrived at.
Justices Charles Hungwe and Edith Mushore, sitting as an Appeals Court, confirmed Gumbura’s conviction, saying the church leader was a danger to society and deserved to be listed in the Register of Sex Offenders – if there was any – as a way of protecting children and women from abuse.
A judgment penned by Justice Mushore, with the concurrence of Justice Hungwe, read:
“As far as I concern myself, appellant is a personification of what Professor Geoff Feltoe refers to as ”the Evil of Abuse” in which he makes calls for other protective measures such as a Register of Sex Offenders.
“Appellant is a depraved individual who degraded and objectified his victims. He is clearly the stuff that nightmares are made of.
“In my view, the court a quo (lower court) correctly convicted appellant on counts 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The appeal against conviction on all counts is dismissed.”
Gumbura wanted the High Court to set aside the lower court’s decision and acquit him of the charges.
Gumbura faced nine counts of raping six women and one of possessing pornographic material.
The trial magistrate found him guilty of four counts of rape and one of illegally possessing pornographic material.
In his grounds of appeal, Gumbura accused the trial magistrate of neglecting his duties, arguing that he did not evaluate evidence of the witnesses to come up with an appropriate decision.
He argued that the magistrate was swayed by non-legal considerations and passed a moral judgment.
For rape, Gumbura was sentenced to 50 years in prison before 10 years were conditionally set aside, leaving him to serve 40 years effectively.
He was also jailed for four months for breaching the Censorship and Entertainment Act.
The sentence ran concurrently with the 40-year jail term.
It was the court’s finding that Gumbura regularly used sex enhancement drugs and that he owned pornographic CDs, which contained scenes of group sex.
Justice Mushore said Gumbura prevailed over his victims through death threats.
His sentence had been reduced to 20 years by the time he died.
His time in jail was as dramatic as his time outside the walls of Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
There were even sensational claims that Gumbura had bodyguards and a secretary in prison and allegedly smuggled 960 bricks of cigarettes into the complex.
Gumbura joined End Time Message in 1978 and became a minister.
His cousin Monday Tapera Gumbura had questions about the man who would lead the RGM Time End Message.
“What did he want 11 wives for? We heard he had nine when he came for his father’s funeral in 2010 and we thought they were too many.
“While we were digesting the shock, he took more. I only know the first wife Tafadzwa Makoni and second wife Queen Bunga . As for kids, I only know Shyra and the one who has a hearing impairment. I do not know the other 28.
“This is now about juju not love for women. If anything the wives are very young and can satisfy him. Eleven wives! He was a brave man.
“Surprisingly, he never dated or married in our village, he would do his strange things in Harare. We just concluded that this was the work of money.
“He would rarely answer his cellphone if anyone from the village called. Mai Shifra would always answer and say he is not around but I knew I was being tricked.
“When I visited his Harare home, I would only be allowed to speak with Mai Shifra. You would never see the other wives. I only saw the other eight when he lined them up for introductions before they were whisked away. I don’t even remember them.”
