Story by Peter Chivhima
THE Harare Magistrates’ Court has dismissed an application by Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya challenging his continued placement on remand, paving the way for his rape trial to proceed.
Magaya, who faces allegations of raping two of his congregants, had argued that the State was delaying the commencement of the trial and sought to avoid further remand.
The application was filed on Monday before Harare Regional Magistrate Francis Mapfumo by Magaya’s legal team, led by Admire Rubaya, after one of the complainants failed to appear in court, with submissions indicating that she is currently outside the country.
However, the court ruled on Tuesday that the application lacked merit and dismissed it, effectively confirming that the matter will proceed as scheduled.
As a result, the rape trial is now expected to commence on March 2.
According to court records, the allegations date back to 2013, when Magaya is accused of raping the first complainant, who was reportedly ill at the time. He is also accused of raping another complainant in 2018 during a visit to South Africa.
On Monday, the PHD leader was further remanded after being slapped with four additional rape allegations and is expected back in court on February 16 in connection with the fresh charges.
Magaya is also facing 78 counts of fraud, with that matter set to be heard on March 27.
