False prophet caught, family speechless

A SELF-CONFESSED bogus prophet left an Epworth family speechless and disgruntled after he had falsely prophesied about the death of their relative. One Elliot Tauro, 25, from Hatcliffe almost caused disintegration to the Munyoro family before he confessed that he was a fake prophet looking for ways to make a living.

Sadly, his unlawful money-making business hit a brick wall after the Munyoros became suspicious during one of his healing sessions. Tauro claimed that he was a prophet from the Johane Masowe Nguwo Tsvuku sect designated to heal the sick and afflicted for a nominal fee which varied with the patient's problem.

All hell broke loose for Tauro after he prophesied that Samuel Munyoro's wife, Bridget, was facing a rare death. He further told Samuel that the death was being fueled by his uncle Sheperd Munyoro who lives in Chiweshe. "We met this man at the shrine where we were seeking help.

"He also prophesied for several other people before he told my wife that she would die soon. "In a desperate bid to save my wife's life, I bought everything that he was saying. "He said the process was to be conducted at my place of residence," said Munyoro.

It is said that Tauro charged US$10 for the "life saving" session. The money was tied on a cloth which he used in his prayers. The money would disappear mid-way during the healing session , it has been claimed. "He said he needed US$10 for the healing session. The money was tied on a cloth and when we unbundled the cloth we didn't find anything," said Samuel.

Tauro's ways of healing came under scrutiny when the Munyoro family gathered at House No. 187 Zinyengere Extension in Epworth to celebrate the birth of a new baby by a relative. Coincidentally, Tauro arrived to perform his acts as he had promised. One family member, Pride Munyoro said that at one point, the prophet ordered that boiling water be poured on everyone's head.

After the ceremony, Tauro arranged with Samuel that he wanted to visit his rural home in Chiweshe to remove the goblins which his uncle Sheperd was believed to possess. When Tauro departed, all the relatives suspected that the healing session was fictitious and so was the prophet. Samuel and his relatives devised a plan to interrogate Tauro when he came for the journey to Chiweshe.

"Everyone was not happy and we had agreed to ask him about his mysterious ways of prophesying. I arrived home from work on Saturday and saw him already there waiting for us. "We beat him up along with other relatives and that is when he told us that he was doing this to earn a living," said Samuel.
Reporters caught up with Tauro when he was being detained at the homestead.

He openly said that he was a fake prophet duping desperate people of their money. He even posed for the camera and went through some of his routines which amused on-lookers. In addition, he spoke in tongues. "I am only a peasant farmer from Rushinga but at the moment I live in Hatcliffe Extension. I am married with one child and they reside in Mount Darwin.

"I am a fake prophet just looking for survival. I started praying for people on April 2 here in Epworth and I am doing this in order to buy clothes and pay my rentals," he said. Asked whether he is not afraid of real goblins, Tauro said: "I just insert a rabbit's skin and pretend as if it came from the patient's body. I charge US$10.

"I am now living in fear that my deeds have been exposed. I am no longer going to do it because I might end up being heavily assaulted, arrested and jailed." When reporters left the scene, the Munyoro family was still deliberating on which action to take against Tauro. "If he fails to pay us back our US$17, we will make a police report. All we want is our money," said Samuel.