Our reporter
A bishop of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe, has been convicted after a so-called spiritual healing session led to the death of a congregant and left her husband seriously injured.
Crispen Gomori, 36, was found guilty of culpable homicide after a brutal flogging ritual at the ZCC shrine on 6 March 2023 ended in tragedy. The victims, a married couple, had sought spiritual intervention but were instead subjected to a harrowing ordeal.
Upon their arrival, Gomori accused them of suffering from mental illness and ordered fellow congregants to chain them to a tree on the church premises. Hours later, at 8 p.m., he began the ‘healing’ session, repeatedly whipping them with a leather strap. The assault continued for several hours, culminating in the woman’s death around 4 a.m.
Realising the severity of the situation, Gomori fled, leaving the woman dead and her husband critically injured. Authorities were alerted, and a police investigation was launched. The surviving victim was rushed to Beitbridge District Hospital for treatment, while the woman’s body was taken for a post-mortem examination.
During the trial, prosecutor Tawanda Chigavazira detailed the extent of the assault, arguing that the bishop’s actions had been excessively brutal. Gomori claimed the couple had consented to the flogging as part of their faith, but the court ruled that the punishment far exceeded reasonable limits.
Beitbridge resident magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba found Gomori guilty, rejecting his defence that the act was a religious practice. Despite his admission of administering seven strokes to the male victim, the court deemed his actions to be reckless and unlawful, ultimately holding him accountable for the woman’s death.
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