NEWS– The Zimbabwe Police have disclosed that they have arrested a man claiming to be a prophet of an Apostolic Sect at a shrine where believers stay in a compound and authorities found 16 unregistered graves, including those of infants and more than 250 children used as cheap labour.
According to a statement issued by the Zimbabwean Police spokesman Paul Nyathi, the suspect is 56 year old Ishmael Chokurongerwa, a “self-styled” prophet, who led a Sect with more than 1,000 members at a farm about 34 kilometers Northwest of the Capital City Harare, where the children were staying alongside other believers.
According to the Police, the children were being used to perform various physical activities for the benefit of the sect’s leadership and of the 251 children 246 had no birth certificates, and the Police established that all children of school-going age did not attend formal education and were subjected to abuse as cheap labour, doing manual work in the name of being taught life skills.
Police said among the graves they found were those of seven infants whose burials were not registered with authorities.
Nyathi said that the Police officers raided the shrine and the suspect Chokurongerwa, who called himself the Prophet Ishmael, was arrested together with seven of his aides for criminal activities which include abuse of minors and Nyathi said more details will be released in due course as investigations unfold.
Journalists who accompanied the Police during the raid, showed Police in riot gear arguing with female believers in white garments and head cloths who demanded the return of children who were put into a waiting Police bus and it is not clear where Police took the children and some women who accompanied then.
One of Chokurongerwa’s Aides who did not disclose her names, told the Police that their belief is not from scriptures, but were got directly from God, who gave them rules on how they can enter heaven, saying that God forbids formal education, because the lessons learned at such schools go against his dictates.
Apostolic groups that infuse traditional beliefs into a Pentecostal doctrine are popular in the deeply religious southern African country and there has been little detailed research on Apostolic churches in Zimbabwe, but UNICEF studies estimate it is the largest religious denomination with around 2.5 million followers in a country of 15 million.
It is reported that some of the groups adhere to a doctrine demanding that followers avoid formal education for their children, as well as medicines and medical care for members who must instead seek healing through their faith in prayer, holy water and anointed stones.
However, others have in recent years begun allowing their members to visit hospitals and enroll children in school following intense campaigns by the government and nongovernmental organizations.
In Kenya, police in April 2003 arrested a Pastor, Paul Mackenzie, based in Coastal Kenya who allegedly ordered congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus, and the country’s Prosecutor in January ordered that the Pastor and over 90 people from the doomsday cult be charged with murder, cruelty, child torture and other crimes in the deaths of 429 people believed to be members of the church.
In 2000, over 1000 believer of the Ten Commandments of God led by self styled Joseph Kibwetere and Sr Cledonia Mwedinde were burnt to death in Kanungu District in Southwestern Uganda after they lured to sell off their land and hand over the money to them as way of indoctrination of cult belief.
