Zim prophet arrested in Facebook rape scam

A self-styled prophet who allegedly used popular social networking site Facebook to lure women into being intimate with him, claiming it was a prophetic calling, has been arrested for rape.

Leader of the Crossover Ministries Church, Prophet Ronald Mambohautumwi, who is popularly known as Prophet Ronny, was on Friday arrested by police in Marondera and is helping the law enforcers investigate at least two cases of rape.

However, more women are believed to have fallen for his devious schemes.

It is alleged that Prophet Ronny used his Facebook account to stalk and eventually lure several women from his congregation, who were friends with him on the social networking site, to his Landy Park home in Maron­dera.

The women would then stay at the house for several days while undergoing "spiritual counselling and prayer sessions."

During the counselling sessions, which were conducted in the man of the cloth's bedroom, it is said Prophet Ronny would deceive the women into believing that it was their prophetic calling to sleep with him and eventually marry him in six months' time.

Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Bulisani Bhebhe confirmed the arrest, saying that two women, from Harare and Chitungwiza, reported the case to police after becoming suspicious.

"On Friday we arrested the leader of the Crossover Ministries Church, Ronald Mambohautumwi, and charged him with two counts of rape," said Insp Bhebhe.

"We understand that between June and July the two victims joined Crossover Min­istries via Facebook and became full members of the church.

"Prophet Ronny, on different occasions, invited the women to his house in Maron­dera for prophetic prayer sessions and counselling.

"It was during these prayer sessions that he would invite these women to his bedroom and behind locked doors tell them of their prophetic calling to be married to him in six months. He would then lure them into being intimate with him.

"We have him in custody and expect him to appear in court soon." One of the alleged victims narrated to The Sunday Mail how she fell into the church­man's schemes. She said Prophet Ronny invited her to his house in Marondera via Facebook after stalking her for several months on the social networking site.

"A friend invited me to that church and I went there and during a prayer session the prophet came to me and said there was a calling upon my life but he could not disclose it in front of the whole congregation," said the 28-year-old woman.

"After I had joined the church on Facebook he started sending messages in my inbox inviting me to his house in Marondera to receive the prophetic message he had predicted earlier during our first encounter.

"At the house he invited me to his bedroom at around midnight then he told me that the ‘Lord' had revealed to him that I had been favoured to be his wife in the next six months.

"He then asked me to be intimate with him claiming that we were already spiritually married since his prophesy had confirmed me as his future wife. We slept together that night and I left the following day.

"I became suspicious after telling a friend of mine who told me stories of other women from the church who had confided in her that they had also fallen into a similar trap. After confronting him he became aggressive."

Zimbabwe has seen an upsurge in the emergence of self-proclaimed prophets over the past three years.

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