HARARE – A desperate woman seeking prayers for infertility issues was drugged, raped, and then dumped by the roadside by a self-proclaimed prophet who preyed on a second victim after threatening to cast dangerous spells on her, a court heard.

Tichaona Matarutse, 32, of the Johanne Masowe Apostolic sect, appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi on Thursday facing allegations of raping the two women at his Waterfalls shrine.

He faces a third count, also allegedly committed at his shrine – a supposedly holy place turned into a rapist’s lair.

Matarutse was not asked to enter a plea and was advised to approach the High Court for bail.

Prosecutors recounted that the first complainant, who had problems conceiving, visited the rogue man of God’s shrine for prayers on June 21, 2021, where he gave her an unknown substance to drink – at one gulp.

The woman then passed out, the court was told, only hearing her would-be alleged rapist ordering three men – likely aides – to take her away from the shrine.

And the next thing the complainant saw was waking “up at around 10PM while surrounded by unknown people at the edge of a main road but Matarutse was not there,” prosecutors said.

The complainant then discovered that she had no panties and that she was discharging whitish fluids from her vagina, leading her to suspect that she had been sexually violated.

The Good Samaritans who bumped into her then assisted the woman to get transport to her sister’s residence before making a police report.

On the second count, prosecutors alleged that Matarutse raped another woman on June 17, 2021, who had visited his shrine seeking prayers so that she could bear a baby boy since she only had girls.

The accused allegedly ordered the complainant to go and seat in a vehicle that was parked nearby before approaching in the company of two unknown male adults – again, likely aides.

After dismissing them, Matarutse then entered the vehicle and started fondling the woman’s breasts, prosecutors said. And when she resisted, the depraved prophet threatened to harm her with supernatural powers, leading her to comply.

He then removed her clothes and raped her, it was alleged.

The woman reported the violation to her uncle who advised her to make a police report, leading to the alleged serial rapist’s arrest.