A Kwekwe-based prominent prophet and a 45-year-old woman are in police custody after allegedly staging a witchcraft incident in a bid to boost the prophet’s popularity. The pair are accused of causing a public nuisance after the woman was allegedly paid to pretend to be a witch at the prophet’s shrine.
The fake miracle unfolded on February 17th, when Kweza was discovered inside a locked house in Mbizo Phase 3, Kwekwe. Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, the Midlands police spokesperson, provided details of the arrest.
“The house where the woman was found is near the shrine of Madzibaba Heavynisher’s Johane Masowe eChishanu church. The woman was wearing black skin-tight clothing, a black vest, and a black headscarf. A crowd gathered after hearing that a witch had been spotted at the location, and ZRP Mbizo police were called to investigate and disperse the crowd,” Insp Mahoko explained.
Police investigations revealed that Kweza had allegedly conspired with Madzibaba Heavynisher to feign witchcraft in order to attract more followers to his shrine.
“During the investigation, police seized Revai Kweza’s phone and found WhatsApp messages between her and the prophet Madzibaba Heavynisher discussing the arrangement and payment,” Insp Mahoko confirmed.
The messages reportedly detailed the plan for Kweza to pretend to be a witch, and the financial compensation she would receive for her role.
Both Madzibaba Heavynisher and Revai Kweza are now awaiting trial on charges of causing public nuisance. Inspector Mahoko issued a strong warning to the public, urging them to be cautious of such schemes.
“We urge the public to use their hands and work hard to earn money, not to engage in trickery and scams. We also encourage the public, if they wish to seek services from prophets, to first seek thorough information about their practices from others or organisations representing traditional healers because many of them use fraud and deception in their work, defrauding people of money and other things,” he cautioned.
The police spokesperson also raised concerns about the potential for exploitation within some religious gatherings.
“Our main message is that people should be careful when rushing to the shrines of various prophets because much of what they find there is false. Women and girls are being raped there. We hear some are said to throw snakes, goblins, and fake horns into people’s homes and give false prophecies, so let’s be wary of these prophets,” Insp Mahoko added, highlighting the need for vigilance and discernment when seeking spiritual guidance.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Zimbabwe. A similar case took place some years ago in Budiriro, Harare, where two women were arrested and prosecuted for pretending to be witches at a local shrine.
The recurrence of such incidents raises concerns about the exploitation of vulnerable individuals and the manipulation of religious beliefs for personal gain. The police are urging the public to report any suspicious activities and to exercise caution when engaging with religious figures and organisations.
