IN a gut-wrenching tale, a widow Nauma Zvarava has come out in the open to share the tragedy she encountered losing her husband and a pregnant minor daughter at the hands of cult leader, Madzibaba Ishmael Chokurongerwa of Johanne Masowe eChishanu Nyenyedzi apostolic church.
In an exclusive interview with NewZimbabwe.com Zvarava, a former cult member who has since relocated to Harare, spoke of her unbearable experiences in which she lost both her breadwinner hubby and cherished daughter.
According to her narration, the nightmare began when Nauma's daughter Polite Kofi, only 14 years old at the time, deserted her family in 2019 and eloped with Madzibaba Ngoni, who later came to negotiate with the family inorder to pay bride price.
In an unpleasant turn of events, the pregnant girl died in 2020 suspectedly due to pregnancy complications for which she did not seek timely medical attention due to the church's doctrines, which forbid members from consulting doctors, visiting clinics and hospitals.
Her death still remains unclear, with no trace of any official medical explanation or documents.
"During lockdown in 2020 we received a distress phone call that our daughter was frothing from the mouth and she was being rushed to Banket District Hospital.
"When we asked to talk to her we were informed that she was aboard another car and we would be told of her condition after arrival at the hospital," narrated Zvarava.
"Later in the evening we got a phone call informing us that Polite had passed on. I suspect that by the time they called the first time she had already died.
"What is really touching me is fact that I don't know how my child was buried. Why didn't l as the mother accorded chances to bury my own blood?"
Zvarava said she needs answers on whether Polite was operated on inorder to remove the unborn baby or not.
In the wake of Polite's demise, the devasted mom and her family members travelled to Madzibaba Ishmael shrine, only to be denied access but eventually told their daughter had died in labour and had already been buried.
"When we arrived at the shrine l asked other church congregants where my daughter's body was but no one answered me. l then started crying and this is when a certain man came and told me my daughter had passed on and had been laid to rest at the cemetery.
"I insisted to see the papers which showed that my daughter underwent an operation to remove the unborn child but they didn't show me anything", Zvarava further explained.
The next morning Zvarava's brother-in-law requested that the family be allowed to visit Polite's gravesite.
"We went to the cemetery and l started crying uncontrollably while touching the grave. I was then told that I was not allowed to lay my hands on the grave. I didn't comply and got accused of scooping soil from the grave. It was Madzibaba Ishmael telling me all this."Zvarava said the visit to the gravesite was to bring further misery in her life after Madzibaba Ishmael sought to separate her with her husband, Douglas Kofi.A life-changing decision was when Kofi was instructed by Madzibaba Ishmael to leave his wife, accused of insulting their god. Kofi couldn't help it as he chose to abandon his family."He was summoned to Madzibaba Ishmael shrine where he was told that your wife insulted our god and we can't continue to pray with you unless you leave her," said Zvarava.
She said her husband only gave her a dollar for the children's upkeep and asked for some property so that he could start a new life at the shrine known as 'Canaan.'
"He returned home and told me church elders had advised him to stay at the Canaan shrine. He then demanded our matrimonial bed, curtains and pots to start a new life. I obliged," she said.
Kofi would occasionally check on his children but surprisingly he just went quiet and never showed up.
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To her utter shock, Zvarava received a call from one Madzibaba Standrick telling her that Kofi had been involved in a tragic road traffic accident and died on the spot.
Mystery surrounds Kofi's undocumented death with no paper trail from police and civil registry confirming his death.
It is for these reasons that both her husband and daughter did not die of natural causes that Zvarava now wishes exhumation of remains to undergo postmortem as she suspect foul play.
She pleaded with the government to shutdown Lily Farm where the cult operates, describing it as a hellhole.
"Lives will continue to be lost at Canaan. Government must act with speed and stop the cult. Those who firmly believe in its doctrines will remain gathered at that place and will not leave on the weird belief their god told them to stay there."
It is not doom-and-gloom for Zvarava, who after losing her breadwinner husband, hopes for a bright future for her four minor children, some in elementary school and another doing Form 1.
