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Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
CHURCHES should take a leading role in the protection of young girls from rape and incest by acknowledging the prevalence of such cases and establishing independent processes of raising concerns within their institutions, a local pastor and family counsellor has said.
Pastor Kilton Moyo of the King City Church in Bulawayo, who is also the founder of Citizen Africa Foundation, a marriage and family counselling centre, expressed concern over child rape and incest cases happening in churches and families.
He said it was unfortunate that such incidents were happening in churches where girls and women expect to be protected.
This follows a case in which a Bishop at the Church Ways of Salvation Apostolic in Bulawayo allegedly raped his daughter for five years claiming the Holy Spirit instructed him to do so.
The heartbreaking incident is one of the many cases where men have raped their own daughters with some resulting in pregnancy.
“This is angering me and I’m in a state of shock. It’s sad that we’re still reading about men raping their own daughters and some of these men claim to be church leaders. This is an embarrassment to fatherhood and the church.
“I personally condemn such behaviour which is tantamount to witchcraft because it destroys humanity and the church is silent on such issues. I therefore urge churches to acknowledge that cases of rape and incest are happening in the church and take a leading role in the protection of the girl child,” said Pastor Moyo.
He said it was also the duty of all men to protect fatherhood and defend every girl child from sexual abuse.
“When a man rapes his own daughter, it’s an embarrassment and insult to all fathers. We therefore, as men, need to rise and work together in educating each other and making sure that every girl child is protected from sexual abuse.
“When a girl child is exposed to such an unbearable ordeal, they’re severely disturbed and this traumatises them. It’s therefore important to make sure that we protect our children and make sure no such witchcraft befalls them,” said Pastor Moyo.
He added that it was unfortunate that some people in the church claim to be what they are not and gain trust from people when they do not deserve it.
“There are many who call the Lord’s name yet they don’t even know the Lord. These people abuse the name of the church for different reasons.
“Some of these people are possessed with evil spirits and they do strange things, destroying innocent lives in the process. There’s always a bad spirit connected to what they do and they lie to people. It’s witchcraft and we must fight against it,” said Pastor Moyo.
The Bishop reportedly started raping his daughter, (19), when she was 14 after she was raped by a neighbour.
The girl reported her ordeal to her friend’s mother leading to her father’s arrest.
Last year, a self-proclaimed pastor in Bulawayo was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after being found guilty of raping an 8-year-old congregant.
A 41-year-old Salvation Army pastor was also arrested last year after he allegedly raped a teenager from the same church on two separate occasions.
In 2016, a 45-year-old Zimbabwean man based in Leeds, United Kingdom and a pastor at Showers of Mercy Ministries International was arrested by British police on allegations that he raped his 17-year-old daughter over a period of time.
In another similar incident, a 45-year-old pastor at Light of God Apostolic Church in Lupane was jailed for 30 years after he forced two girls aged 15 into a three-some sex orgy at his homestead, claiming that he was cleansing the girls who he said were affected by evil spirits.
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