Preacher who raped maid 5 times now targets 2 million votes for Mugabe
By Lance Guma
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HARARE – A controversial preacher who raped his housekeeper five times and photographed her private parts says that he is targeting to garner an ambitious two million votes for President Robert Mugabe in the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe.
Destiny for Africa Network leader, Reverend Obadiah Musindo (sometimes spelt Msindo) who once described Mugabe as a ‘Black Moses’, says he will get votes for Mugabe through doling out residential stands and creating employment.
“We have housing schemes in Mutare, Bindura, Kadoma, Chinhoyi, Bulawayo and many parts of the country. We are giving out 100 000 stands to those who champion President Mugabe’s cause for total emancipation. I want to deliver two million votes to the President,” Musindo told the NewsDay newspaper.
According to Musindo the housing schemes would benefit all members of the security services, party cadres who would have wooed more supporters to Zanu PF and churches. Beneficiaries pay for the stands over five years. It’s reported he is working with the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) on his projects.
“They (beneficiaries) don’t pay for the land, but for its development. We are developing the stands on State land made available to us. We also buy private land using money we accrue from our other businesses and mortgage financing from friendly banks,” Musindo told the paper.
Asked if this was vote buying Musindo retorted “What is vote-buying? Is it not a fact that even when Tsvangirai is campaigning he makes promises to the electorate? What is wrong with us giving out stands to our supporters?
“The people of Zimbabwe deserve decent lives and that is what we are giving them from our God-given land and resources. There is no vote-buying here. We are not electioneering. Go to Mutare, Bulawayo and see what we are doing on the ground.”
“We work with churches. We are not apologetic about this. We are giving out stands to churches, pastors and prophets. We want to ensure that President Mugabe wins at all cost,” Musindo added.
Musindo went on a similar vote buying spree in 2008 but Mugabe went on to suffer an embarrassing defeat to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mugabe’s regime responded with a brutal programme of reprisals known as Operation Mavhotera Papi (Where Did You Vote?) in which hundreds were killed.
Musindo allegedly raped his maid on five occasions in 2004 but the case only went to court two years later. In 2006 police finally charged Musindo, with five counts of rape. This was only after 35 women’s organisations threatened to demonstrate against the police over their reluctance to arrest him.
Despite an order from the Attorney General the police seemed reluctant to arrest him. The female police officer investigating the case was also removed from the case. Assistant Commissioner Elliot Simbi in a letter to the AG even defended Musindo, saying the maid may have cherished having his baby.
Musindo donates regularly to Mugabe’s birthdays and presides over many state occasions at the Heroes Acre especially. His political connections were enough to get the case swept under the carpet but not before many people in the justice system lost their jobs while trying to bring him to justice.
Girl Child Network founder Betty Makoni said “Musindo harassed me for challenging why he had not been jailed given that there was overwhelming evidence he had raped a girl he had taken from the rural areas as a domestic worker.”
Makoni who looked after the victim said “Her story was long and I had a feeling that this Destiny for Africa Network church was a syndicate that had committed the worst crimes against women.
“She told me several other young girls were allegedly raped but their parents had agreed to out of court settlements and in one case I visited in Mbare a young girl has a baby boy with Musindo and he is Obadiah Musindo Junior… for all the abuse she suffered her parents got $16 million equivalent U$ 80.”
