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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
A self-proclaimed prophet from Kwekwe was on Friday slapped with a 40-year jail term when he was convicted of raping a Midlands State University student four times while holding her captive on a mountain saying the Holy Spirt had instructed him to use his manhood to cleanse her.
McDonald Nyamhondoro (33) of the Madzibaba apostolic sect in Redcliff had pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Gokwe regional Magistrate, Mr Solomon Jenya facing four counts of rape. However, he was convicted after a full trial and sentenced to 10 years in jail on each count. Mr Jenya, however, suspended eight years on condition of good behaviour.
The State’s case was that sometime in January this year on a date unknown to the prosecutor, the complainant (name withheld) who was aged 20 from Rutendo high-density suburb in Redcliff approached Jenya seeking divine intervention on her social problems.
Jenya, the court heard, took the woman to his place of worship where he allegedly prayed for her for two days after which he informed the complainant that she had been freed from the tormenting spirits that were sexually abusing her in her sleep.
After the cleansing, Jenya told the complainant that the “Holy Spirit” had instructed him to take the woman to a nearby mountain for four days to celebrate the victory of having cast away the evil spirits, to which the woman complied.
On 18 January, Jenya asked other female congregants to accompany him and the complainant to the mountain where they would spend four days celebrating. When they got to the mountain Jenya instructed three other women to go and fetch water from a nearby river while he and the complainant prayed in a cave. Jenya then tripped the complainant to the ground as soon as other church members left and raped her once.
The following day, Jenya used the same method to rape the complainant again. On 20 January, Jenya and the women returned to the shrine where the MSU student told him that she was no longer interested in being assisted by him but he told her that the “Holy Spirit” had told him to have sex with her for the last time and raped her twice.
Lucky ran out for Jenya when he and the complainant met police officers who were looking for the woman after her two brothers who had been left in her custody drowned on their way home following a heavy rain. The complainant told the police what had transpired leading to Jenya’s arrest. Mr Michael Mhene appeared for the State.
Online Reporter