A FAMILY from Binga is looking for a Zaoga Church pastor
who disappeared after allegedly impregnating their 19-year-old adopted daughter
who is a Form Three pupil.
The pupil was adopted by the family in Manjolo, about 25km
from Binga when she was eight-years-old following the death of her parents. She
was in the custody of a family member, who is a teacher at a local school.
The teacher, who declined to be named, said Pastor Bruce
Mushayavanhu (29) allegedly left Binga on the pretext that he was going to
answer to his case before the church in Harare but never returned. She said
Pastor Mushayavanhu, who was on probation, had however, acknowledged
responsibility after being confronted by the family and reported to the
church’s overseer in Binga. She said they have been trying to locate him for
the past three months after he disappeared.
“My mother, who is late now, adopted the pupil when she was
eight-years-old and she took her to school. My mother died in 2017 and I took
over the responsibility of taking care of the girl, who is literally my sister.
“In January this year Pastor Mushayavanhu was deployed to
Binga and he moved into our family house, which we’ve been renting out to Zaoga
Church for years. In April I heard that my sister was pregnant,” said the
teacher.
She said she confronted the pastor and he professed
ignorance on the issue but when she interrogated her sister she confirmed that
she was pregnant and the pastor was responsible. The teacher, who is a Roman
Catholic, informed the local priest and they decided to go and report the case
to the Zaoga overseer, who is also based in Binga and only identified as
Overseer Ndlovu. “Overseer Ndlovu summoned him and asked him to explain what
was going on. He accepted responsibility and promised to take care of my sister
and the child.
“My priest suggested that we seek advice from legal experts
and we approached a magistrate, who advised us that Mushayavanhu should write
an affidavit and put his acknowledgements and promises on paper.
“He agreed and wrote the affidavit on 27 May. He even said
he wanted my sister to continue with school and promised to pay her fees,” she
said. She added that Pastor Mushayavanhu later took his clothes and property somewhere
else before leaving the house and he never came back. “We asked Overseer Ndlovu
about his whereabouts and he said the pastor had to go to the church’s
headquarters in Harare to answer to his case.
“He gave us his uncle’s number but he could not help us
locate him,” she said.Chronicle is in possession of the affidavit written by
Pastor Mushayavanhu on May 27, 2019.
“I, Bruce Mushayavanhu take responsibility for the
pregnancy of (name withheld) and I’m ready to take (sic) her but not now
because I’m still making consultations on the way forward. I will give the
final decision and way forward on June 3, 2019,” reads part of the affidavit.
Contacted for
comment, Overseer Ndlovu confirmed the incident, saying the church was also
looking for the pastor. “I was working with the young man here in Binga
together with a few other pastors. He was deployed to Binga just after
completing Bible school, and was still on probation.
“I advised our headquarters about his case and he was
summoned before being demoted to an ordinary church member while the church was
monitoring his commitment,” said Overseer Ndlovu. He said Pastor Mushayavanhu
disappeared after a while and his mobile phones are not reachable. The pastor
and his uncle could not be reached for comment as their mobile phones were not
reachable. Chronicle
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