By Patience Gondo
A 14-year-old girl’s quiet suffering at a Johane Masowe shrine has finally been brought to light after self styled apostolic sect leader Ishmael Chokurongerwa popularly known as Madzibaba Ishmael was convicted of sexually abusing and impregnating her.
In a statement on Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe said Chokurongerwa was found guilty of repeatedly engaging in sexual acts with the minor between February 2023 and March 2024.
At the time the abuse began, she was only 14.
NPAZ said the matter remained concealed within the tight knit Lily Farm sect in Nyabira until January 2024, when the girl gave birth to a baby girl.
“DNA tests later confirmed that Chokurongerwa was the child’s biological father,” said NPAZ.
NPAZ said the case only broke open in March 2024 after a tip-off led authorities to a safe house in Mufakose, where the minor had been hidden.
Prosecutors said the rescue ended more than a year of silent abuse carried out under the guise of spiritual authority and absolute sect control.
According to reports Chokurongerwa, who had led the Johane Masowe eChishanu Gorejena Penyeranyika Apostolic Sect for years, allegedly used his influence to control the girl and keep the abuse concealed.
According to reports ,Magistrate Estere Chivasa convicted him on the main charge involving the minor but acquitted him on two other counts after ruling that those complainants were consenting adults.
He remains in custody and will undergo a pre-sentencing inquiry.
The NPA praised the survivor and all those who helped bring the case forward.
“The protection of our children is paramount, and the NPA remains committed to rooting out all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, especially those masked by positions of power or religious authority,” NPAZ said.
Police investigations into Chokurongerwa’s Nyabira shrine uncovered deeper concerns extending far beyond the sexual abuse case.
A wide-ranging inquiry found that 246 out of 251 children at the shrine had no birth certificates and were not attending school.
Reports said the children were being used as labour for the benefit of the sect’s leadership, disguised as life skills training.
Further reports revealed 16 unregistered graves nine adults and seven infants buried without notifying the Registrar-General’s Office or obtaining burial orders, violating the Burial and Cremation Act