'Pastor Gumbura had three-some'

THE trial of pastor Martin Gumbura, the leader of End Time Message entered its second day yesterday with the aunt of one of the alleged rape victims telling the court how she left the church owing to persistent sexual demands from the man of the cloth who knew fully well that she was married with two children.

The woman, who produced a letter which she wrote in 2006 notifying the church of her decision to quit, said she was "committed to the hands of the devil" by the pastor who dealt ruthlessly with people who disobeyed him.

The woman had been called as the State's second witness to testify on allegations made by the victim against Gumbura.

"When the complainant was planning her wedding with her fiancée, pastor Gumbura called her to his house in Kadoma on the pretext that he wanted to counsel her and help her plan the wedding.

"At first I was against the idea of her going to Pastor Gumbura's house. However, I could not stop her since he had insisted that she comes to Kadoma.

"When she went to his house I could not communicate with her since it was against the church's doctrine to communicate with your child when she is in the hands of the pastor.

"When she later told me that she was being sexually abused by Pastor Gumbura, I cried because he had also tried to do the same to me.

"He made sexual advances towards me on several occasions despite the fact that I was married with two children. I confided in one of the church members and told her what the pastor was asking from me," she said.

The woman told the court that when the victim told her about the abuse, she could not report to the police since it was against the church doctrine.

She said they were not allowed to report any case to the police or non-church members as it was considered taboo.

"I later decided to leave his church due to persistent sexual demands and I even wrote a long letter to the church in which I was airing my grievances including the abuse perpetrated on the victim. Many girls from the church came to me complaining about Pastor Gumbura hence I decided to quit his church.

"After bidding farewell to the church, Pastor Gumbura said he was going to commit me into the hands of the devil, adding that I was going to die. He actually prayed to Satan in church with other congregants calling my name and placing me in the hands of the devil. He cursed me with all sorts of misfortunes. However, his curses failed to work on me because I am a prayer warrior," she said.

During cross-examination, Gumbura's lawyer Ms Rekai Maposa accused her of stage-managing events, an allegation which she dismissed.

Earlier on, one of the complainants, who is the woman's niece, had told the court that the man of the cloth would force her to have group sex which involved him and three other women.

She said among the women, who were being intimate with the pastor on the same bed, one was married to another member of the church.

The 31-year-old victim narrated to the court her last encounter with the pastor which happened early this year.

She said he raped her after she had been invited to his house by one of his wives even though she was now married with two children.

During cross-examination, Ms Maposa accused her of having an affair with Pastor Gumbura.

"I put it to you that the reason why you did not report the rape charges to the police in time is because you were in love with the accused and you were after his money," she said.

The complainant reiterated the issue of the church doctrine which barred them from approaching the police or non-church members for advice.

The regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya remanded the matter to today for continuation of trial.

Harare area public prosecutor Mr Jonathan Murombedzi and Mrs Kudzai Chigwedere prosecuted.