The sanctity of a place of worship, a space meant for solace and spiritual guidance, has been shattered by the actions of a man who preyed on the vulnerability of his flock. Peter Pasi, a self-styled prophet from Chitungwiza, has been sentenced to an effective 20 years in prison for the rape of a 15-year-old congregant.
The sentence, handed down by Chitungwiza regional magistrate Mrs Gloria Takundwa,reveals the dangers that can lurk within the guise of spiritual authority.
Pasi’s conviction follows a full trial, during which the prosecution, led by Ms Pamela Dzinduwa, meticulously laid out the chilling details of the crime. The court heard that on June 16th, 2024, the young victim was attending a church service when Pasi, in a calculated act of manipulation, prophesied that she needed three days of prayer to ward off evil spirits.
The victim, trusting in the authority of the self-proclaimed prophet, agreed to the prayer sessions. On June 17th, she returned to the church shrine, only to be instructed to venture into the nearby bush and locate a Muhacha tree. The court heard that Pasi then spread a red cloth beneath the tree, creating a scene of faux spiritual ritual, or rather a ‘base’ for an unsanctioned sexual act.
“He then covered the complainant’s face with a cloth and she knelt down on the cloth,” the court heard. “He instructed her to lie down facing upwards.”
It was under the guise of this fabricated ritual that Pasi, exploiting the victim’s trust and vulnerability, committed the heinous act.
“Soon after that Pasi forced himself on her and had unprotected sex with the complainant,” the court heard. “Although she tried to scream, nobody was able to hear her.”
The victim’s ordeal, however, did not end there. The weight of her trauma forced her to confide in a neighbour, who in turn informed her grandmother. Together, they took the courageous step of reporting the crime to the police, leading to Prophet Pasi’s arrest.
