Controversial Lusaka-based pentecostal Papa, Bishop John General, stood steadfast before the Lusaka Magistrates Court yesterday, with his wife by his side and the weight of his believers’ trust upon him, and vehemently denied allegations that he had performed a sexual miscarriage exorcism ritual on a married woman from his congregation.
The Matero papa and owner of Miracle Impact Ministries, who answers to his officially-recognised name of John Nundwe is in court on a charge of rape.
On November 22, 2023, the spiritual leader was said to have wielded his own flesh as a weapon, violating the sacred privacy of a married woman without her consent.
The alleged intention was to vanquish the demons believed to be causing her to miscarry her unborn child each time she was pregnant.
Upon being caught red-handed in the act by the the woman’s husband, the preacher’s composure crumbled.
He fled with a speed that would put even the swiftest of athletes to shame, leaving his dignity and clothes behind, he sprinted away with a urgency that belied his age, his ‘family jewels’ swinging and bouncing like an overworked pendulum.
The husband’s wrath was hot on his heels, a tempest of retribution that threatened to sever his head from his naked shoulders. In that moment, the John General’s priorities were clear: escape, evade, and preserve his precarious grip on life.
The clothes and car left behind by the fleeing cleric were secured by the police to be used as evidence in court will against the ‘Lecherous’ papa.
Appearing before magistrate Ammy Masoja the papa pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He is being tried by State advocate Cynthia Mwila and prosecutor Joe Phiri.
Nundwe’s lawyer Yokonia Daka indicated that his client will be ready to stand trial on June 28.
Emerging from the courthouse after the brief hearing, the embattled preacher and his wife, the female shepherdess, walked hand in hand with apparent confidence that not even the mini hurricane predicted by the Zambian authorities could tear their love asunder.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba June 11, 2024
