Malawi: Police at Jenda arrested a 26-year-old prophet Rodgers Mkandawire of God Will Provide Ministry. The police suspect that he raped a woman who went to seek child blessings from him.
According to the police officers, they received the reports of the incident on December 20, 2023 at Jenda in Mzimba. The arrest was made on Friday.
The investigations into the incident revealed that the woman got married three months ago and was not conceiving. This prompted her to seek God’s intervention thinking she had a problem.
On December 20, 2023 around 12:00 hours she went to meet the suspect. After the victim reached, the suspect allegedly prophesied that the woman had been bewitched. He claimed that she needed cleansing in order for her to conceive.
The prophet took ashes and placed them on her private parts and later he had sexual intercourse with the woman as part of cleansing.
The prophet told the woman not to reveal the ordeal to anyone. The woman though in fear of what had happened reported the matter to the husband. After getting the news, he took her back to the prophet for enquiries.
However, by the time the couple reached, the prophet had escaped. They later reported the matter to Jenda police whom upon searching arrested the suspect.
Mkandawire has been charged with rape, section 132 of the penal code and will appear before court in due course.
Mkandawire hails from Chabwachabwa village, Traditional Authority Mtwalo in Mzimba district.
The people of Malawi are extremely disappointed after the incident came to light. Many people have urged the authorities to punish the culprit for his crime. Unfounded blind faith and superstition is one of the leading cause of criminal offenses.
In several instances, women do not report these incidents. The people of Malawi have extended their support to the young woman. Meanwhile, some other social media users have also expressed their surprise.
According to some of the comments, three months of marriage is too early to seek alternate interventions.
