Walter Magaya, the founder and leader of Prophetic Healing Deliverance Ministries (PHD), is due to appear at the Harare Magistrates Court this Monday as his rape trial begins.
The charges against him go back to 2013, when he is said to have met one of the complainants during a prayer session.
Prosecutors claim that Magaya made sexual advances and then raped her at a hotel in Harare. They further allege that the same woman was assaulted on two more occasions.
Magaya also faces separate allegations of sexual violence from 2018 involving another woman in South Africa.
Court papers state that she was taken there under the pretence of buying machinery and raw materials.
Prosecutors say Magaya, with help from his aides, assaulted her during the trip and again later that year at his Marlborough offices in Harare, after inviting her for a business meeting.
Court records show the complainant allegedly tried to report the incidents at Waterfalls and Harare Central police stations in 2018.
However, the case was not pursued at the time, reportedly because of Magaya’s influence over law enforcement.
Related:
Magaya Appears In Court On Charges Of Raping Two Church Members
Walter Magaya Arrested Over Rape And Fraud Allegations