Five-Fold Ministries church pastor Admire Maurukira, who raped a congregant on five different occasions and gave her anointing oil in a bid to buy her silence was yesterday sentenced to 60 years imprisonment by a Harare magistrate.
Maurukira (29) was convicted on five counts of rape and was slapped with a 12-year jail term for each count.
However, he will serve a 50-year effective jail term after regional magistrate Hosiah Mujaya suspended 10 years on condition of good behaviour.
According to court papers, the complainant is a 21-year-old Harare woman.
During trial, the court heard that sometime in October last year, the woman went to Maurukira’s place of residence to be delivered from spiritual attacks, but the man-of-the-cloth prayed for the woman and instructed her to return and collect some anointing oil which had run out of stock.
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However, the victim’s father then asked his daughter to go and collect the oil on her own.
Upon arrival at Maurukira’s residence, the court heard that the pastor prayed for her after which they left the house together and headed for St Mary’s where the pastor is said to have another house. The court heard upon arrival the woman entered into Maurukira’s residence together with the convict’s friend, Kudakwashe Rwodzi, who locked the door from outside and promised to return after a few minutes.
Maurukira then took out a bottle of anointing oil and instructed the woman to comply with his orders, claiming her spiritual attacks would return if she did not.
Maurukira pushed the woman onto his bed and raped her.
After the act, he gave the woman some anointing oil and ordered her never to disclose the ordeal to anyone.
Sometime in December last year, Maurukira reportedly called the woman again and asked to meet her in town.
At that point in time the woman’s father is said to have passed away and Maurukira claimed he wanted to console her during the meeting. But he later drove to a city lodge, where he lured her into a room before raping her again.
After the act, the court heard, the woman was given another bottle of anointing oil and warned not to divulge the ordeal to anyone or her spiritual attacks would return.
Maurukira is said to have used the same modus operandi and raped the woman on three more occasions in January this year.
Maurukira in April met the woman again in the city and asked if she was pregnant judging by her bulging stomach and she told him she had missed her menstrual periods.
He then advised her to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused.
Later, the victim’s aunt who is a nurse, examined her after hearing rumours from neighbours and when she tried to engage Maurukira, he ignored her and she reported the matter to the police, leading to his arrest.
Timoth Makoni appeared for the State.
