Bizarre Cult Uses Sex as a Form of Worship

A BIZARRE cult has been using sex as a form of prayer, luring desperate women to a bushy shrine in Pumula South, Bulawayo, with fake promises providing them with blessings of love, marriage and faithful partners.

 

A viral video of women’s underwear hanging from bushes sent social media into a frenzy about three weeks ago.

 

The underwear was hung like a grotesque display of trophies.

 

When visited the site and uncovered the disturbing details of how self-styled prophets preyed on vulnerable women, convincing them that their “healing” required them to have sex with the prophets.

 

A 39-year-old woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted she went through the ritual last year and even claims it worked.

 

“My dream was to get married young, like my mother who got married at 18. But I was always unlucky in love,” she said.

 

She revealed that a woman at her church introduced her to the prophets, saying they had a reputation for “fixing” women’s problems.

 

“At the shrine, the prophet prayed for me, then told me to strip naked. He washed my panties in what he called holy water, then began touching me while praying.

 

“He massaged my breasts and private parts and later said my womb was the problem.”

 

The ritual ended with the prophet having sex with her in what he deemed was an act to deal with the problem.

 

“He told me to leave my panties behind, saying they contained evil spirits that would follow me home. Two weeks later, my man paid lobola,” she said, insisting the prophet saved her life.

 

When this reporter suggested she had been abused, she snapped.

 

“I knew what I was doing. He helped me and I don’t want you to destroy this lifeline for other women,” she said angrily, before storming off.

 

Another woman claimed multiple male prophets operated at the site and even dealt with prostitutes who wanted to keep their clients hooked up to them.

 

“This place was always full. Even women from other cities came here,” she said. But the ritual left many residents outraged and disgusted.

 

“These so-called prophets vanished when the video leaked,” said Siphathiswe Nyathi, a Pumula South resident. “What kind of church is this? Our wives were naked before these men,” fumed another man.

 

Fidelis Tshuma said the cult was part of a wider problem of illegal churches mushrooming in the area.

 

“We have over 16 churches in the bush. I once saw a man with 30 women. The ground was littered with over 50 pairs of wet panties,” Tshuma said.

 

“The sad thing is, women are letting strange men touch them in the name of prayer. This is not right.”

 

He urged the Environmental Management Agency and Bulawayo City Council to clear the area but jokingly asked:

 

“Who will collect all those dirty panties?”

 

Village head, Vidco Maseko, condemned the practice, saying:

 

“When we grew up, we never saw this style of worship. Government must intervene, but carefully, so as not to violate freedom of worship.”

 

Ward 17 Councillor Skhululekile Moyo visited the site with this reporter and said the rituals were polluting the forest and ‘causing drought’.

 

“The elders who prepare for the Njelele festival need to cleanse this place. We need help from the authorities,” she said.

 

Nkethabatshabe Amasiko, a traditional group, is planning a cleansing ceremony. Its leader, Lameck Joseph Moyo, said:

 

“These women’s underwear and shiny bottles are blocking the rain. In our culture, you must cover shiny objects before rain falls. Imagine buying your wife underwear only for her to go and remove it for another man in the bush?” H-Metro