An alleged cult leader claiming to be a prophet has been arrested after 251 children being used for cheap labour were rescued from a compound in Zimbabwe.
Police said Ishmael Chokurongerwa, 56, was leading an apostolic sect with more than 1,000 members at a farm about 21 miles northwest of the capital, Harare, where the children were staying alongside other believers.
Authorities found 16 graves – including seven belonging to infants – when they raided the sect on Tuesday.
The children, most of whom had no birth certificates, were being used to “perform various physical activities for the benefit of the sect’s leadership,” police spokesman Paul Nyathi said after the raid.
“Police established that all children of school-going age did not attend formal education and were subjected to abuse as cheap labour, doing manual work in the name of being taught life skills,” he added.
Chokurongerwa, who called himself the Prophet Ishmael, was arrested together with seven of his aides “for criminal activities which include abuse of minors,” Mr Nyathi said.
Mr Nyathi said more details will be released “in due course as investigations unfold”.
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A state-run tabloid, H-Metro, which accompanied police during the raid, showed police in riot gear arguing with female believers in white garments and head cloths who demanded the return of children who were put into a waiting police bus.
It is not clear where police took the children, and some women who accompanied them.
One of Chokurongerwa’s followers, who H-Metro said believed the compound was their “promised land”, was seen in a video posted on X by the newspaper, and heard shouting: “Why are they taking our children? We are comfortable here. We don’t have a problem here.”
One of Chokurongerwa’s aides who gave an interview to the newspaper said: “Our belief is not from scriptures, we got it directly from God who gave us rules on how we can enter heaven.
“God forbids formal education because the lessons learnt at such schools go against his dictates,” he said, adding that “God told us that it won’t rain if we send our children to school”.
“Look at the drought out there, yet we are receiving rains here. We have the gift of a spiritual ear to hear God’s voice,” he said.
Apostolic groups are popular in the deeply religious southern African country. While there has been little detailed research on Apostolic churches in Zimbabwe, UNICEF studies estimate it is the largest religious denomination, with around 2.5 million followers in a country of 15 million.
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Some of the groups adhere to a doctrine demanding that followers avoid formal education for their children as well as medical care for members who must instead seek healing through their faith in prayer, holy water and anointed stones.
Others have in recent years begun allowing their members to visit hospitals and enrol children in school following intense campaigns by the government and non-governmental organisations.
In April last year, police in Kenya arrested a pastor who allegedly ordered congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus.
Mackenzie and 29 associates from the doomsday cult were charged with the murder of 191 children last month.
