WHILE most churches conducted services from home during the
Easter holidays in line with the Covid-19 lockdown regulations, a prayer
session turned tragic when three apostolic church members died in a Murahwa
Hills cave, Mutare, as the Sungano Apostolic Sect leaders were clandestinely
conducting a 10-day prayer session.
Both the church and Manicaland provincial police
spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, confirmed the sad news.
Timothy Mandeya (23), Roderick Mafongoyo (28) and Nigel
Maimbo (17) of Chikanga passed away while attending a prayer session in Murahwa
Mountain.
Seven congregants — Walter Kwaini, Prince Chingoda, a
14-year old juvenile, Dadirai Chirevo, Tapiwa Samunda, Tanatswa Ziremu and
Benjamin Paradza — survived the ordeal.
They were arrested for contravening Section 5 of Statutory
Instrument 83 of 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown Offences Act, which outlaws gatherings
of more than two individuals in a public place during the 21-day lockdown
period.
The survivors gave narratives of mysterious events leading
to the death of the trio and claimed that the deaths were linked to spiritual
chastisement.
However, Inspector Kakohwa dismissed the claims and said
investigations are still in progress to establish the cause of the deaths.
“Information at hand indicates that 10 people were
attending a church prayer meeting which was supposed to last for 10 days in
Murahwa Mountain. They gathered at the place last Wednesday at around 1pm.
“The next day as they continued with their prayers, it
became very cold. According to our investigations, they decided to seek shelter
in a tunnel. While inside, they lit a fire to warm themselves up. However,
there was too much smoke in the tunnel and some of them decided to go back
outside, thereby leaving Mandeya, Mafongoyo and Maimbo inside,” said Inspector
Kakohwa.
He said Kwaini and Chingoda then decided to go back inside
the tunnel to check on their colleagues after a few minutes, but found them
dead.
They reported the case at Chikanga Police Station. Sungano
Apostolic Church leader, Bishop Rackson Samunda, was one of the people who
arrived at the scene soon after the tragic incident.
He claimed that one of the survivors had said mysterious
apparitions were witnessed before the three’s death.
“We were informed by one of the survivors that they
discovered that their colleagues had remained inside the tunnel. They quickly
went back in to search of them, but instead met three dreadlocked men who
rebuked them for praying in the cave, before mysteriously disappearing,”
claimed the bishop.
But Inspector Kakohwa shot back, encouraging members of the
public to wait for the conclusion of investigations before making such claims.
Acting Chief Mutasa said the mountain in question is a no
go area for such activities.
“That is a sacred area. Yes, we are a free country but some
areas cannot be visited willy-nilly,” he said.
Christians in Manicaland and beyond celebrated the Easter
holidays at home glued to either their television sets or smart phones as
church leaders conducted services on various social media platforms.
Anglican Diocese of Manicaland, Bishop Eric Ruwona said
people need to abide by the regulations put in place in order to stop the
spread of Covid-19.
“We have outlawed church gatherings until this pandemic is
over. There were no gatherings during the Easter Holidays. The church did live
presentations on our Facebook page. We are taking this isolation thing very
seriously and we have advised our members accordingly,” he said.
Father Simba Rukanda of St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in
Dangamvura said Catholics are staying at home and observing social distancing.
“During the Easter holidays, we used our social media
platforms to send messages and prayers. The virus is causing havoc across the
world. As Christians, we need to pray for salvation,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation, there were 2
million confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of yesterday (16 April), while 130 000
people had lost their lives due to the virus.
In Zimbabwe, there were 23 confirmed cases, including three
deaths, as of yesterday.
One recovery has been recorded so far. Manica Post
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