InhumanHIV positive Prophet jailed 36 years for raping church member

A man of God living with the HIV Virus in Zimbabwe will spend 36 years in prison for allegedly raping a member of his church and infecting her with the deadly virus.

play A Zimbabwe Court of justice
(MyZimbabwe)

A 36-year-old man of God in Zimbabwe, Prophet Wellington Gase, has been sentenced to  36 years in prison after a Gokwe-Kwekwe regional magistrate, Amos Mbobo, found him guilty of rape, even after knowing that he is living with the HIV virus.

According to ZimNews, Gase, a minister with the Johanne Masowe weChishanu Apostolic Church, allegedly raped and infected a female member of the church, more than three times, during a prayer session, and using threats to silence her and her family.

Gase, who, according to the reports, had infected his victim with HIV instead of giving her spiritual healing, pleaded not guilty to the three counts of rape but Mbobo opined that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubts, and handed down the sentence on him, with six years suspended on condition of good behaviour.

The prosecutor, Mary Chapinda, had told the court that on January 12, 2016, Gase was approached by the complainant’s mother after she suffered from continuous menstrual cycle and he promised to perform healing sessions for three days.

Chapinda said the mother agreed to leave the girl in Gase’s custody but instead of offering prayers, Gase raped the girl on three occasions and thereafter threatened to bewitch the girl’s mother and other relatives if they dared reported the matter.

The girl reported the abuse on January 21, leading to Gase’s arrest. A medical report was produced in court and it showed the victim had been infected with HIV.