An investigative report by Truth Diggers, the investigative arm of Alpha Media Holdings (publishers of NewsDay, The Standard, Zimbabwe Independent and Southern Eye), has unearthed a harrowing reality within Zimbabwe’s apostolic sect shrines: hundreds of pregnant women are risking their lives and the lives of their unborn children in the name of faith.
The investigation focused on Madzibaba Justice Sithole’s shrine in Zvimba, Mashonaland West, revealing a situation far removed from acceptable healthcare standards.
Upon arrival at the shrine in Chirau, the investigative team encountered dozens of pregnant women living in rudimentary plastic shelters, lacking basic amenities such as clean water and sanitation. The shrine, known as Masowe, functions simultaneously as a place of worship and a makeshift maternity ward, a “bush clinic” with a grim history of cholera deaths and stillbirths. The sheer number of makeshift shelters, over twenty, suggests that more than twenty women are accommodated at any given time.
The team was granted access by a cautious Madzibaba Sithole, leader of the Marange apostolic sect in Chirau, who initially inquired about their identities. The team responded affirmatively to avoid potential hostility or expulsion from the secretive location. The conversation, initiated by Sithole, centred on health issues, specifically a recent cholera outbreak that claimed 24 lives at the shrine.
Sithole described the shrine as a “maternity” centre, where women choose to deliver their babies, and a clinic for those seeking spiritual and physical healing.
“This place is known as Chitsidzo (covenant) where our pregnant women come for safe delivery. It is their choice to come here or go to conventional health centres for treatment,” he explained.
He added that the shrine also houses and treats members suffering from chronic ailments, with the duration of their stay determined by the Holy Spirit.
The investigation revealed disturbing details about the shrine’s midwifery practices. Sithole presented his wife, Alice Sibangani’s, application letter for a midwifery certificate, dated August 27, 2018. While the letter indicates an application, it remains unclear whether she received formal training. Further evidence of Sibangani’s midwifery skills was presented in the form of a school exercise book containing records of deliveries at the shrine. The book showed more than ten weekly deliveries, but notably, no record of infant deaths.
Sithole admitted, “We did not agree with some of your colleagues who came here during the cholera outbreak making unfounded allegations that one of our members who had just died had succumbed to cholera but the truth of the matter was that the woman had died due to delivery complications.”
The most shocking revelation concerned the disposal of deceased infants. Sithole explicitly stated, “We don’t bury them. We put them in shallow graves near the river bed or a wet place, and it’s forbidden to cry for the loss of such babies.”
He described the process: shallow graves, no more than two metres deep, are dug by elderly women who no longer bear children, and the burials take place discreetly, in the evening or early morning, without the mothers present. This practice, he claimed, is a Shona cultural method of disposing of stillborn babies.
The living conditions at the shrine are equally concerning. The more than 20 pregnant women and Sithole’s family share only two Blair toilets and a single bathroom. Their water source is an open, unprotected water body, posing a significant health risk.
Sithole claimed the water came from a divinely provided well, but neighbours revealed that he refused an offer from former First Lady Grace Mugabe to have a borehole drilled, citing the Holy Spirit’s opposition to “unbelievers” drilling a borehole.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care acknowledges the risks associated with these “bush clinics,” but its strategy focuses on engagement rather than enforcement. Donald Mujiri, the ministry’s spokesperson, stated, “We need to engage them and persuade them to appreciate better methods and to train midwifery women from their church.”
This approach, however, has been criticised by health experts like Henry Madzorera, a former health minister, who argues for stronger legal protection for women and newborns.
“These women should be protected by the government,” Madzorera stressed. “Laws must be put in place that encourage and enforce the use of modern health care.”
He further highlighted the tragic loss of newborn lives due to a lack of government intervention. Some health experts suggest the government’s reluctance to enforce the law stems from a fear of losing church support during elections.
The situation at Madzibaba Sithole’s shrine is, unfortunately, not isolated. Hundreds of similar shrines operate across Zimbabwe, highlighting the urgent need for intervention to protect the lives of women and children. The investigation’s findings paint a stark picture of faith-based practices that tragically compromise the health and safety of vulnerable individuals.