News / National
Sex prophet preys on flock
23 Oct 2020 at 18:44hrs | Views
A self-styled prophet who started a virtual church on WhatsApp has admitted bedding several female congregants who came to him for prayer and confided in him about problems they were having in their relationships.
Panashe Madekebve (28) who said he founded Daylight Ministries International runs a virtual church in a WhatsApp group called Heavenly Voices, where he allegedly proposes to women and visits them individually for prayers.
All hell, however, broke loose recently after the prophet posted pictures of a woman that he said he had proposed marriage to in the church group.
He allegedly duped some women he had promised to marry, into contributing money he used to engage the woman from Cowdray Park suburb.
A number of women from the church accused Madekebve of sleeping with them and dumping them after promising them marriage in the church group.
The prophet admitted to B-Metro that he had a weakness for women.
He is accused of even dribbling past parents of some of the girls he has had sex with by seeking accommodation in their homes pretending to be homeless.
"We have opened a WhatsApp group for victims of the prophet and we discovered that he would lie to us that he had lost a relative in Maphisa following a mine collapse. He would say all family members went there and forgot to leave keys to the house and hence start asking for accommodation. Some of the girls would talk to their parents and they would accommodate him."
The prophet allegedly sweet-talked some congregants into giving him money and gadgets such as cellphones, saying they would get blessings in return.
According to the emotive messages, Madekebve's trail of destruction goes as far as South Africa, where he was allegedly once based, in Cape Town, and where a number of girls regret wasting their time and money they spent on him while others fear for their health.
Some women in South Africa were made to financially support him by "seeding" money with him.
"We have discovered that many of us have been played by Prophet Panashe. He has a sweet tongue and he promises marriage to everyone that he proposes love to. He had promised to pay lobola for me this year and then a wedding next year. He was actually putting me under pressure to agree to marry him saying his ministry does not want him to be single," a woman in her early 20s told B-Metro.
She said she later discovered the prophet had just engaged someone in the same church when pictures started circulating within the Heavenly Voices group.
In Bulawayo, eight women claimed the self-proclaimed prophet had unprotected sex with them and one suspects she is pregnant after missing her period.
"I was introduced to his Heavenly Voices WhatsApp group by a friend. I was having problems with my boyfriend and wanted him to assist with prayers. I did one-on-one with him via WhatsApp and to cut a long story short we ended up having sex," said one of the women.
A South Africa-based woman said she strongly suspected the prophet used some magic to get girls.
"It was in May this year, after talking on WhatsApp. He was sending some silly messages and we started the relationship. We introduced each other to our families. I think I am the only one who was shown his real relatives because the other girls seem to have been introduced to fake relatives," she said.
She said they had even started discussing marriage with the prophet but everything fell apart when he engaged another girl in Bulawayo.
The woman said the prophet at one time claimed his father had died and requested money from congregants who contributed in large numbers.
"A girl based in South Africa told me that the prophet requested money claiming that his only son was sick in hospital and needed money for medication. The girl sent him the money, not knowing that he wanted to use the money to engage another girl who stays in Cowdray Park."
Another South Africa-based girl said the prophet would ask that she sends him her tithes and offerings.
"He was insisting that I send my tithe to him as well as seed money so that he can pray on my behalf for my things to be well. I regret ever meeting him. We had sex many times and he never wanted to use protection saying he would marry me," she said.
After the cat was out of the bag the man of the cloth could not withstand the heat, and he reportedly removed all those who were attacking him from the WhatsApp group.
A pastor who knows Prophet Panashe and who spoke to B-Metro on condition of anonymity said it was shocking that such a "gifted" man of God was a sex pest.
"I came to know him after he invited me to preach in his church after I was introduced to him. He has a WhatsApp group, Heavenly Voices. I think that is where he targets the girls. He does not have a church here in the city so he does his prophecies on the WhatsApp group then if there is a need for prayers he goes to houses of the affected people," said the pastor.
"I have spoken to some of his victims. It seems he has a network of people he is working with because he has introduced some of the girls to some people he claimed were his relatives but he does not have any relatives in Bulawayo," said the pastor.
Madekebve's grandmother, Gogo Madekebve, after hearing about his sexcapades sent him a voice note decrying his "evil behaviour".
"Panashe my grandchild, I cried after hearing that you have engaged yet another girl. Because of your deeds, I am now only waiting for the coffin carrying your body. What you are doing will kill you. I have prepared a grave, just waiting for your death," said the grandmother in a WhatsApp voice note in possession of B-Metro.
Reached for comment, Prophet Panashe admitted that he had a weakness with ladies.
"What I do and what people expect from a man of God may not be the same. I don't justify my wrongs. Every person in life has a weakness and in whatever I do there is always an element of a different force coming against me to terminate whatever assignment I have, which in my particular case, is ladies," he said.
Without elaborating, the prophet said he engaged one of the women last Saturday to try and overcome his weakness with ladies. The women said they feared that the prophet might be doing the same in Chegutu where he is resident and when the heat is up escapes to Bulawayo to continue with his wayward ways.
Panashe Madekebve (28) who said he founded Daylight Ministries International runs a virtual church in a WhatsApp group called Heavenly Voices, where he allegedly proposes to women and visits them individually for prayers.
All hell, however, broke loose recently after the prophet posted pictures of a woman that he said he had proposed marriage to in the church group.
He allegedly duped some women he had promised to marry, into contributing money he used to engage the woman from Cowdray Park suburb.
A number of women from the church accused Madekebve of sleeping with them and dumping them after promising them marriage in the church group.
The prophet admitted to B-Metro that he had a weakness for women.
He is accused of even dribbling past parents of some of the girls he has had sex with by seeking accommodation in their homes pretending to be homeless.
"We have opened a WhatsApp group for victims of the prophet and we discovered that he would lie to us that he had lost a relative in Maphisa following a mine collapse. He would say all family members went there and forgot to leave keys to the house and hence start asking for accommodation. Some of the girls would talk to their parents and they would accommodate him."
The prophet allegedly sweet-talked some congregants into giving him money and gadgets such as cellphones, saying they would get blessings in return.
According to the emotive messages, Madekebve's trail of destruction goes as far as South Africa, where he was allegedly once based, in Cape Town, and where a number of girls regret wasting their time and money they spent on him while others fear for their health.
Some women in South Africa were made to financially support him by "seeding" money with him.
"We have discovered that many of us have been played by Prophet Panashe. He has a sweet tongue and he promises marriage to everyone that he proposes love to. He had promised to pay lobola for me this year and then a wedding next year. He was actually putting me under pressure to agree to marry him saying his ministry does not want him to be single," a woman in her early 20s told B-Metro.
She said she later discovered the prophet had just engaged someone in the same church when pictures started circulating within the Heavenly Voices group.
In Bulawayo, eight women claimed the self-proclaimed prophet had unprotected sex with them and one suspects she is pregnant after missing her period.
"I was introduced to his Heavenly Voices WhatsApp group by a friend. I was having problems with my boyfriend and wanted him to assist with prayers. I did one-on-one with him via WhatsApp and to cut a long story short we ended up having sex," said one of the women.
"It was in May this year, after talking on WhatsApp. He was sending some silly messages and we started the relationship. We introduced each other to our families. I think I am the only one who was shown his real relatives because the other girls seem to have been introduced to fake relatives," she said.
She said they had even started discussing marriage with the prophet but everything fell apart when he engaged another girl in Bulawayo.
The woman said the prophet at one time claimed his father had died and requested money from congregants who contributed in large numbers.
"A girl based in South Africa told me that the prophet requested money claiming that his only son was sick in hospital and needed money for medication. The girl sent him the money, not knowing that he wanted to use the money to engage another girl who stays in Cowdray Park."
Another South Africa-based girl said the prophet would ask that she sends him her tithes and offerings.
"He was insisting that I send my tithe to him as well as seed money so that he can pray on my behalf for my things to be well. I regret ever meeting him. We had sex many times and he never wanted to use protection saying he would marry me," she said.
After the cat was out of the bag the man of the cloth could not withstand the heat, and he reportedly removed all those who were attacking him from the WhatsApp group.
A pastor who knows Prophet Panashe and who spoke to B-Metro on condition of anonymity said it was shocking that such a "gifted" man of God was a sex pest.
"I came to know him after he invited me to preach in his church after I was introduced to him. He has a WhatsApp group, Heavenly Voices. I think that is where he targets the girls. He does not have a church here in the city so he does his prophecies on the WhatsApp group then if there is a need for prayers he goes to houses of the affected people," said the pastor.
"I have spoken to some of his victims. It seems he has a network of people he is working with because he has introduced some of the girls to some people he claimed were his relatives but he does not have any relatives in Bulawayo," said the pastor.
Madekebve's grandmother, Gogo Madekebve, after hearing about his sexcapades sent him a voice note decrying his "evil behaviour".
"Panashe my grandchild, I cried after hearing that you have engaged yet another girl. Because of your deeds, I am now only waiting for the coffin carrying your body. What you are doing will kill you. I have prepared a grave, just waiting for your death," said the grandmother in a WhatsApp voice note in possession of B-Metro.
Reached for comment, Prophet Panashe admitted that he had a weakness with ladies.
"What I do and what people expect from a man of God may not be the same. I don't justify my wrongs. Every person in life has a weakness and in whatever I do there is always an element of a different force coming against me to terminate whatever assignment I have, which in my particular case, is ladies," he said.
Without elaborating, the prophet said he engaged one of the women last Saturday to try and overcome his weakness with ladies. The women said they feared that the prophet might be doing the same in Chegutu where he is resident and when the heat is up escapes to Bulawayo to continue with his wayward ways.
Source - bmetro
