Harare regional
magistrate Estere Chivasa yesterday found Madzibaba Ishmael gulty in the latest
chapter to the drama which started with a police raid at his farm in Nyabira on
March 13 last year.
All the three
complainants said they had no links, whatsoever, with Madzibaba Ishmael but DNA
helped the State to secure conviction.
The DNA tests
were conducted by the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and
conclusively proved that Madzibaba Ishmael fathered the three children born to
the complainants.
Despite the
scientific evidence, Madzibaba Ishmael argued that the DNA results were tainted
and inadmissible.
He also denied
all allegations of rape, claiming the complainants had not voluntarily reported
the incidents to the police.
The prosecution
argued that Madzibaba Ishmael abused his position as a trusted religious leader
to exploit and rape young congregants under the guise of religious authority.
Madzibaba
Ishmael is expected back in court today for the pre-sentencing hearing.
Oscar Madhume
prosecuted.
H-Metro broke
the story of the police raid and Madzibaba Ishmael’s arrest and the newspaper
has played a leading role in the coverage of his case.
Madzibaba
Ishmael, who had been attending court coming from home, was detained in custody
yesterday as he now awaits his sentencing.
Initially, he
was being charged with three counts of rape and was convicted on one charge
after the court found that the other two complainants were not minors as had
been previously claimed.
He was
acquitted of the charges related to the ill-treatment of minors and breaching
the Burial and Cremation Act.
Magistrate
Chivasa said Madzibaba Ishmael’s followers were stripped of their right and
ability to exercise freedom of choice through oppressive religious dogma which
was as good as slavery.
The magistrate
said: “An accused can only be found guilty of a crime where the evidence is
circumstantial if: -the circumstances from which an inference of guilt is
sought to be drawn are all established, the inference of guilt is consistent
with all the proved facts, and the proved facts are such that they exclude
every reasonable inference from them except that accused is guilty.
“The
circumstances taken cumulatively form a chain so complete that the conclusion
is inescapable that within all human probability the crime was committed by the
accused.
“No direct
evidence is necessary for their probative value, save that things do happen
that way without reason or explanation and the circumstantial evidence is
incapable of explanation by any other hypothesis than that of guilt of the
accused.
“Such evidence
should not only be consistent with the guilt of the accused but also
inconsistent with his or her innocence,” she said.
Magistrate
Chivasa said while the complainants denied any links with Madzibaba Ishmael,
there was DNA evidence proving otherwise.
“The three
complainants all denied any link with the accused person, and even wondered why
he was arrested and why they were called to come to court to testify.
“They all said
they are not aware of his position at church since there are a lot of
congregants at church.
“They all
denied ever having sexual intercourse with the accused but on the other hand,
however, there is scientific proof (DNA paternity test results providing proof
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused engaged in sexual intercourse with
them and bore children.
“The
complainants clearly were regular congregants at accused’s shrine in which he
was the founder and leader so there is no way they could not have known him
after all it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had
sexual intercourse with them.”
The magistrate
added: “It has to be noted that the complainants were still very young
particularly (name withheld) who was aged 13 to 14 years when the offence is
alleged to have taken place.
“In such an
oppressive environment, in which the followers are stripped off their right and
ability to exercise freedom of choice through the proven oppressive religious
dogma which is as good as slavery, the only reasonable inference conclusion is
that the sexual intercourse was not consensual.”
One of the key
witnesses painted a harrowing picture of the oppressive religious structure
where congregants where held as hostages.
The magistrate
noted that the complainants, who came from different backgrounds, gave
consistent evidence which was proven untrue by DNA results.
During the
trial, the victims exhibited visible fear, freezing whenever questioned about
the church’s doctrines.
This suggested
they were still under the influence of indoctrination, with their main focus
being to protect the accused. H Metro
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