Prophet Magaya saga takes yet another twist

Hardly 72 hours after appearing in an interview in which she accused Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya of indecent behaviour, actress Charity Dlodlo has backtracked on her statement and apologised, claiming she was "used by the devil".

She becomes the third Magaya "sex victim" to renege on her confession after two other women, Sarah Maruta and Chenai Maenzanise — also turned around and recanted their earlier statements of rape and sexual abuse levelled against Magaya, who has been at the centre of several such accusations.

In a recorded video, a subdued Dlodlo said she would not fight Magaya anymore. Looking downcast and troubled, Dlodlo said she was now asking for Magaya's forgiveness.

"I wish to apologise to the man of God, Prophet Magaya. It was the work of the devil in my life. From now on, I will not be fighting him. I realise it is no use fighting a man of God who was sent to help others. To the man of God Prophet Magaya, please forgive me for all that I have been doing via social media.
Please find it in your heart to forgive me," she pleaded.

This is despite the fact that hardly a week back, an angry and bold Dlodlo had, in detail, narrated how Magaya lured her to his Prospect offices where she knelt before him and how he indecently assaulted her.

"Magaya rose from his chair, kissed and touched my breasts and I screamed loudly," she said in her testimony that was watched by thousands across the country and the globe.

The actress claimed that following the incident, Magaya pampered her financially as a way to keep her quiet. She said then that she had decided to come clean and reveal the truth about Magaya.

She also confessed that she knew about Maruta's alleged rape by Magaya, saying given her faith in the man of God, she had, however, refused to believe he could be a sexual pervert.

A week ago, Dlodlo and Maruta went to a local newspaper where they poured out their hearts about their alleged sexual encounters with Magaya. A few days later however, Maruta turned around and accused Dlodlo and the newspaper editorial team of coercing her into nailing Magaya.

She became the second alleged victim to do so after another alleged victim Maenzanise, denied audio reports by her parents that she was raped and impregnated by Magaya when she was only 17 years old.

Following this latest development, social media pundits took to the various platforms like Facebook, blasting Dlodlo for acting in a suspicious manner to pour cold water on a case that could have been a solid one for the courts.

Many accused her of having been offered money while some said she had been threatened. Others said as an actress, she had been fooling everyone and was just out to get money from Magaya.

Meanwhile, Nyaradzo Mashayamombe of Identities Media, who interviewed Dlodlo, fired salvos at the actress saying she had been deeply disappointed by her.

"When I saw the Facebook post I was not surprised, but disappointed. I realised that ‘my sister' had bowed either to the money or to the pressure. Sarah Maruta, Chenai Maenzanise are all women with one common thread: a history of sexual abuse with Magaya," she said.