The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
A Kwekwe prophet, Simabyu Shiri (35) leader of Spirit of Living Waters Ministries, recently grabbed headlines and sent shockwaves on social media platforms after he was arrested for beating up an elderly female congregant for talking badly about the man of the cloth.
A leaked audio which was recorded by the victim, Gogo Violet Ndhleleni (54), found its way to social media platforms with disturbing thunderous sounds of slaps coming from the man of the cloth churned out to the elderly congregant, being the main discussion.
The hapless woman who had been dragged to the church court by fellow female congregants, was slapped several times by the youthful prophet for trying to explain herself with the prophet claiming that she was being disrespectful by answering back.
After the beating, Gogo Ndhleleni made a police report leading to the arrest of the clergyman. Gogo Ndleleni’s predicament was only the tip of the iceberg after two more congregants, his bouncers, also filed assault charges against Prophet Shiri. In the audio, Prophet Shiri bragged about how he has disciplined other congregants before.
“You’re speaking while I’m still talking, that’s disrespectful. I beat people who disrespect me. You’re not the first one I have beaten. I can even take my whip if you keep answering back,” said the youthful clergy.
He even dug up personal information on the defenceless woman.
“This is why you don’t get married, it’s because you can’t close your mouth; you’re disrespectful, this is why your husband left you,” bellowed the prophet.
The development left Gogo Ndhleleni, who already had health challenges, with even more health issues. Besides being shaken physically, the experience was emotionally torturing to the elderly woman.
She said she was affected by the incident, emotionally, mentally and physically.
“When he called me on the day, I didn’t expect that the situation would get to that extent. He had told me that he wanted to ask me about what I had allegedly said. But when we were discussing, he didn’t give me the chance to tell my side of the story,” said the visibly shaken Gogo Ndhleleni.
“It’s true that I had one tooth removed after the beating and now my other ear can’t hear properly. I now have hearing challenges as a result of the beating. I have been in and out of the hospital after the incident but I’m recovering well now,” she said.
Gogo Ndhleleni vowed never to go to the church again.
“I don’t think I will be able to attend the church again; how can I face the prophet? I have never been there since the incident occurred. A lot of people have left the church, some burnt regalia, some wrist bands but there are some who are still going there, I don’t have any problem with their decision,” she said.
Another congregant claimed the prophet once assaulted youths who had failed to pitch a tent in preparation for a church service. Gogo Ndhleleni and two of the prophet’s bouncers filed assault charges against him.
The matter was taken to court and Prophet Shiri was initially sentenced to 12 months in prison before three months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
The remaining nine months were wholly converted to 315 hours of community service.
Gogo Ndhleleni’s experience at the hands of the prophet mirrors the sad reality happening in some places of worship where church leaders have become demi-gods who do as they please.
If a man of the cloth can have the audacity to beat up a woman as old as his mother, it means that man has no respect and can do anything he pleases, including sexual assault.
What is worrying is how Prophet Shiri bragged about having beaten “many others” before and how he could use his tongue to curse any congregant who disrespected him.
Besides the beatings, one cannot help but ask what else has been happening in this church or any other church for that matter.
Given that more women than men go to church in Zimbabwe; are the female congregates safe from the men of the cloth?
A church is supposed to be a safe haven where issues are solved amicably. Prophet Shiri could have sought other ways of solving the difference between him and Gogo Ndhleleni.
Zimbabwe Union Council of Churches (ZUCC) President, Evangelist Idirashe Dongo said the move by the youthful clergy was shameful and unacceptable.
“In the principles of a church setting, this should never be heard of. We don’t condone such acts. A church should be a safe place where people bring their problems and they get them solved amicably,” she said.
Evangelist Dongo said besides chasing away his flock, Prophet Shiri was painting a bad image of the church.
Going forward, she said, there was need to engage the church on issues to do with gender-based violence and gender equality among other issues.
“We have actually discovered a gap that churches are lacking in cases of violence and GBV. We should therefore start conscientising and raising awareness within churches,” she said.
“We engaged him (Prophet Shiri) over the issue and made him know that we were not happy about the development. From my own findings, the congregants seemed indoctrinated that they can no longer question decisions by the prophet.”
Shamwari YeMwanasikana programmes manager, Ms Esnara Kativhu said Gogo Ndleleni’s experience was the highest level of Gender-Based Violence which should never be tolerated.
Ms Kativhu said her organisation has handled many cases of GBV and Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) within the church.
“We have been working with churches for a while from Pentecostal, apostolic, and mainline churches. This was after we received reports that girls and women in churches were very vulnerable to cases of GBV. This is largely because of the processes and doctrines in the churches which discriminate against women and perpetuate gender inequalities and GBV,” she said.
Ms Kativhu said they have had engagements and they will continue doing so to raise awareness about GBV issues. She said in recent times, there has been a trend of young, charismatic prophets and apostles violating women.
“Young prophets use their power and influence to lure girls or coerce them into sexual activities. We have dealt with a number of such cases recently,” she said.
Ms Kativhu said women and girls are considered second-class citizens without a say, which causes emotional abuse.
“Women in churches can’t make decisions on which type of contraceptive to use without consulting their husbands. They can’t make a decision on their issues and this has left them emotionally shaken. Some women, especially wives of popular influential church leaders, are being beaten at home and they can’t speak out because they want to maintain the integrity of the church,” she said.
Ms Kativhu said Shamwari YeMwanasikana has already rolled out a programme to engage women and girls in churches.
“We have a number of programmes running to address these issues including Dandaro Revanasikana to engage with churches so that we protect the rights of women and girls in the church setting. We will continue working with other partner organisations to try and empower girls, even their male counterparts, on the need to respect their female congregants,” she said.
There is need to address cases of GBV and SGBV within the church setting and guard against mental health issues as many women suffer in silence.
