Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Walter Magaya has approached the High Court seeking a review of a magistrate's decision to place him on remand, arguing that his detention was unconstitutional and "a grave miscarriage of justice."
In his application filed through Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, Magaya cited Harare regional magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa and the Prosecutor-General of Zimbabwe as respondents, accusing the lower court of acting "without jurisdiction" after he was detained beyond the 48-hour constitutional limit before being brought to court.
"The 1st Respondent's decision to entertain an application for placement of Applicant on remand is so manifestly irrational and grossly outrageous in its defiance of logic that no sensible court... would arrive at it," Magaya said in his founding affidavit.
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He argued that under Section 50(3) of the Constitution, any person detained beyond 48 hours "must be released immediately" and not subjected to further remand proceedings. "Must means must," he stressed. "The phrase 'must be released immediately' is not merely directory but peremptory, creating a constitutional obligation that admits of no judicial discretion."
Magaya is facing five counts of rape and 13 counts of fraud.
He said the State had conceded in court that he was detained beyond the lawful time limit, yet Magistrate Gofa still proceeded to place him on remand. "This breach is not a matter of conjecture," he said. "It is factual and borne out by the express and unequivocal concession of the State Counsel for the 2nd Respondent."
He described his arrest on November 1 as "deeply troubling," claiming that a "large contingent of heavily armed police officers descended upon me while I was engaged in prayer."
Magaya accused the magistrate of "brazenly subverting" the Constitution by ruling that his remedy lay in suing for damages rather than being released, warning that such reasoning "takes the criminal justice system back to the Lancaster House Constitution."
"By transforming this clear constitutional command into a mere precursor to civil litigation, the 1st Respondent effectively rewrote the people's will as expressed in the Constitution," he said. "If unchecked, this arbitrary erosion of liberty will metastasise... emboldening law enforcement agents to regard themselves as a law unto their own."
The cleric also attacked the magistrate's reliance on the Agripa Mloyi v The State precedent, arguing it was "wholly inapposite" and that she ignored the more relevant Panganai Davison Madondo v The State judgment.
Magaya further accused the Zimbabwe Gender Commission of "manufacturing allegations" against him through a public advert that solicited rape complaints. "The subsequently complainants... only emerged after this public invitation," he claimed.
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In his draft order, Magaya seeks to have the magistrate's ruling of November 4, 2025, set aside and for him to be "removed from remand" on all charges of rape and fraud.
He argues that the High Court's intervention is necessary to prevent "continuing violations" of his constitutional rights. "The principle that you cannot put something on nothing, it will collapse, applies with equal force here," Magaya submitted.
He is represented by Admire Rubaya, Everson Chatambudza and Advocate Sylvester Hashiti.
The matter is yet to be heard.
