Madzibaba Enock accused of repeatedly raping woman at Budiriro shrine and city lodge
A 21-year-old woman has reported to police that she was repeatedly raped by Madzibaba Enock, the leader of the Johane Masowe Yechishanu, Nyenyedzi Nomwe sect, after she went to his Budiriro shrine seeking spiritual healing.
The woman says the alleged abuse began after she was instructed to remain at the shrine for prayer and healing sessions. She identifies the religious leader as Hebert Senda, who is also known as Madzibaba Enock and leads the apostolic sect based in Budiriro 4, Harare.
According to the report made to police, the woman first visited the shrine because she was unwell. She says she then began living at the site while receiving prayers.
“I went to Madzibaba Enock’s shrine to seek spiritual healing since I was not feeling well. From that period, I started to reside at the shrine receiving prayers.”
She says that in July 2025, at about midnight, a female member of the church woke her and asked her to go to Senda’s vehicle, which was parked close to the shrine. The woman says they entered the vehicle and found Senda sitting alone.
“We both entered the vehicle where we found him seated alone in the vehicle.”
She told police that she was given a soft drink before the vehicle left the shrine. She says she became dizzy after drinking it.
“I was given a soft drink and felt dizzy after consuming it.”
The woman says Senda drove them to an unidentified lodge in Harare’s central business district. She alleges that the female church member booked a room and took her inside, while Senda remained in his vehicle before following them to the room.
“Madzibaba Enock remained seated in his vehicle and followed us to the room later.”
She says the female church member then left the room, leaving her alone with Senda.
“The female member then immediately left the room, leaving me and Madzibaba.”
The woman alleges that Senda raped her four times at the lodge without using protection. She also says he threatened to kill her if she disclosed what had happened.
“He raped me four times without protection and threatened to kill me if I divulged the matter.”
She says Senda drove her back to the shrine the following morning. Her account states that the alleged abuse did not end at the lodge, but continued at the shrine and on other occasions over the following months.
“Since then, Madzibaba Enock has continued to rape me several times on different occasions whenever he gets the opportunity.”
The woman says she eventually escaped from the shrine and recovered her mobile phone. She then contacted her sister and reported the matter to the police.
“After managing to escape and getting back my cellphone, I phoned my sister and reported the case to police,” she said.
The case was reported at Budiriro Police Station under reference number RRB 6872764. National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi was not immediately available to comment on the reported case.
The new report has brought renewed attention to Senda, whose name has appeared in previous court cases involving disputes connected to the church and its property.
In January 2021, Senda appeared before a Harare court facing charges of fraud and theft of trust property. The case concerned allegations that he had sold a residential stand belonging to the church’s housing co-operative and later sold a vehicle entrusted to him by the same organisation. He was granted US$15,000 bail and was ordered to report to the police twice a week.
The State alleged that Senda had represented himself as the owner of a residential stand in Budiriro and sold it for US$10,000. A home-seeker, Munyaradzi Chaguta, was said to have paid a US$2,400 deposit and was expected to pay the balance in monthly instalments of US$500. The prosecution also alleged that another individual had already paid a development fee to the co-operative for the same stand.
A second charge concerned a commuter omnibus that had been exchanged for two residential stands after discussions involving the housing co-operative’s executive. The vehicle was entrusted to Senda as the sect’s leader, but prosecutors alleged that he sold it and converted the proceeds to his own use. The reported prejudice to the co-operative was put at US$10,000 in that matter.
Senda was later acquitted of the fraud and theft charges at the close of the State case in January 2023. A report on the ruling said 11 witnesses had testified before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo cleared him of the charges.
He had also previously faced an attempted-murder charge arising from a dispute over land linked to the church’s housing co-operative. In that case, the State alleged that a church member was taken from his home, driven to Southlea Park Dam, tied up and thrown into the water with a 43-kilogramme rock attached to him. The allegations involved several people connected to the church and its land dispute.
Harare magistrate Morgen Nemadire acquitted Senda in October 2018 after finding that the charges against him were unconvincing, according to the court report.
Those earlier cases are separate from the current report made by the 21-year-old woman, which concerns alleged sexual offences at the Budiriro shrine and at a lodge in central Harare. The woman’s account places the first reported incident in July 2025 and says that further incidents occurred after she was taken back to the shrine.
The police reference supplied in the case records the complaint made by the woman, while the response of Senda and the church leadership remains outstanding. Attempts to obtain comment from Commissioner Nyathi were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
The woman’s statement describes a sequence in which a person seeking spiritual assistance was taken from the shrine at night, transported to a lodge and left alone with the religious leader. She says she was later returned to the shrine, where she alleges that further assaults took place.