Top Pastor Flees As Police Ready Bigotry, Treason Docket

HARARE — Police have prepared a four-count criminal docket against prominent cleric Apostle Batsirai Java, accusing him of publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the State, bigotry, undermining the authority of the President and treason.

The treason charge arises from allegations that he urged the military overthrow of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Java, the elder brother of flamboyant preacher Passion Java, has reportedly been in hiding for several weeks following police raids on his Mt Pleasant home and the headquarters of his Tabernacles of Grace Church.

Information obtained by this publication indicates that the matter is being handled by the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s Law and Order section under Chief Superintendent Runganga.

The docket, titled State versus Batsirai Java, lists the apostle’s residential address as 11 Cynthia Road, Mt Pleasant, and sets out the four charges in apparent preparation to charge the cleric.

The latest developments follow reports that Law and Order detectives picked up a senior aide to the apostle together with his secretary last Thursday as efforts to locate the cleric intensified.

The inquiry was triggered by the circulation of an audio recording in which an unidentified speaker made a series of claims concerning Zimbabwe’s political landscape and the inner workings of the Government.

Authorities appear to have linked Apostle Java to the recording despite his previous public statement denying that he was the speaker.

The recording spread rapidly across social media and fuelled intense political debate over its contents, prompting a police investigation.

Police subsequently raided both the apostle’s Mt Pleasant residence and the Tabernacles of Grace Church before broadening their investigation in an apparent effort to locate him.

The preparation of the docket marks a significant development in the case, signalling investigators’ intention to pursue criminal proceedings once the preacher is apprehended.

A leader from the church, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, condemned the investigation as a sustained campaign against the church.

“They raided his home, they raided the house of God, and now they are picking up people around him because they cannot find him,” they said.

“Where is the crime? We believe this is an attempt to intimidate the Church. It is a satanic agenda.”

Police are yet to publicly comment on the hunt for the preacher.