A police officer revealed that some of the girls rescued from Madzibaba Ishmael Chokurongerwa’s shrine in Nyabira last March pleaded with authorities to end their lives rather than remove them from Lily Farm.
During testimony yesterday, the officer stated that many of the girls appeared to have been deeply influenced by Madzibaba Ishmael’s teachings.
State prosecutor Oscar Madhume led evidence from Getrude Chitakira, a police officer involved in the investigation. Chitakira told magistrate Estere Chivasa that a team consisting of officers from the Victim Friendly Unit and social workers conducted a raid on the shrine on March 13.
“Our objective was to interview children who were believed to have suffered sexual abuse and to facilitate their medical examination,” Chitakira explained. Reports of widespread abuse and child marriages had prompted the operation.
Initially, church leaders claimed they lacked the authority to assemble everyone, stating that only Madzibaba Ishmael could do so. However, since he had already been arrested, they eventually complied and gathered the congregants.
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“When we called out the names of suspected victims, none of the girls responded. Instead, they laughed as though they were hearing the names for the first time,” Chitakira said. The officers then decided to separate the young girls from the larger group for individual interviews.
“We informed them that we had received reports of sexual exploitation and forced marriages. They responded in unison, saying, ‘Takura hatisi vana vadiki’ (We are grown, we are not children). We asked them to provide birth certificates as proof of age, but they claimed not to have any. When we told them they would undergo age estimation at the hospital, they resisted, citing their religious beliefs,” she added.
The police spent over two hours persuading the girls to board the bus, only to encounter further resistance.
“As soon as they got on, they began crying and screaming, insisting they would rather die than leave Lily Farm,” Chitakira recalled.
To verify their ages, officers requested birth certificates from their guardians. Some older girls were identified and released, while 24 children under the age of 18 were taken for medical assessments. Among them, five were found to be virgins, while others were not—some were even pregnant.
Later that month, authorities received a tip that three of the complainants were being hidden in a Mufakose residence.
“I was assigned the case and followed up on DNA tests that had been conducted. The results, which came back on October 7, confirmed that Madzibaba Ishmael had fathered their children,” Chitakira said.
However, the first complainant questioned the DNA findings, claiming she had been impregnated by her boyfriend, Tinashe, who later disappeared. The second girl also insisted she was unsure of her child’s father. The third denied any sexual involvement with Chokurongerwa and said she had no knowledge of the child’s paternity.
“This showed that the children had been manipulated because conception only occurs through sexual activity,” Chitakira concluded.
During cross-examination, Chokurongerwa’s lawyer, Msindo Hungwe, highlighted that no official complaints of sexual abuse had been made. Chitakira also admitted that three of the alleged victims consistently stated they were never coerced into sex.
The trial is set to continue on February 19.
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