MUTARE – Troubled Anglican Church Diocese of Manicaland has been rocked by another scandal, this time involving matters of the amorous realm.
Zim Morning Post can exclusively reveal that a church is been haunted by a massive sex scandal involving a popular reverend and a colleague’s wife, a shameful act that has exposed the dark secrets, deceptions and cover ups by high ranking officials aligned to the highly controversial Bishop Eric Ruwona who heads the diocese.
Position Chikuruwo, who is not new to storm, a reverend at St Emmanuel Anglican church in Hob House high density suburb in Mutare was last Friday caught in a compromising position with Lynnette Manyumwa who is married to a fellow reverend Talent Makanga.
While the contentious Bishop Ruwona tried in vain to water down the atrocious act and protect his blue-eyed boy Chikuruwo, some church elders, both family members and Makanga himself confirmed of the awful
act.
“Yes we can confirm that this (sexual act) happened. As we speak right now they (Talent Makanga and Lynnette Manyumwa) are on separation, as divorce processes are ongoing,” said a family member representing the
Makanga family.
On Saturday, an urgent meeting was held at Makanga’s residence at St Johns Cathedral in Mutare that saw Chikuruwo who is also married, some
church elders including one Samutereko and Chikore who are Ruwona’s alleged bootlickers attending to desperately solve the disgraceful issue.
Members from both Chikuruwo and Makanga families were also in attendance.
“Yes, we had a meeting at Makanga’s residence where we tried to solve the issue.
Reverend Chikuruwo admitted to his adulterous affair and apologised. So what has left is for the families to have further discussions and then see what will happen there after.
“At the moment they are on separation,” said a church elder who attended the
meeting.
The wife also admitted to the ‘Jezebel crime’.
Falling under immense pressure and out of shame,
Chikuruwo spilled the beans on Lynnette’s bed hopping habits alleging that
she has been also having other affairs
with two other named reverends and
another church member who is at the Anglican
Church Diocese of Manicaland head office.
Details are that last Friday there was a party
at Portia Magada’s residence, another
divisive church member aligned to Ruwona, where some single and married church members wined and dined.
Late at night, a drunken Chikuruwo refused to go
to his residence in Hob House, but
decided to go with Makanga to his residence.
At the house, the two had a bottle of whiskey,
but, they ran out of chasers and Makanga then told Chikuruwo to go together to
look for dilution, but Chikuruwo refused
harbouring his ulterior motive .
However, Makanga left Chikuruwo in the lounge.
Makanga purported to have left the place,
but, climbed the pre- cast wall using the back entrance and hid within the walls of his bedroom.
The details further say Makanga heard the door
from his bedroom where his wife Lynnette
was sleeping being opened and his wife went out and
met Chikuruwo.
The two talked briefly in the lounge and they
proceeded
to the spare room. While in the spare room, it
is alleged that Makanga went to the main
door to open but it was locked.
He then phoned a relative who was sleeping in
another spare room to open the main door
for him. The relative then opened the main door.
Makanga and the relative then went to the spare
room where Chikuruwo and Lynnette were
caught red handed in the act, while both naked and having unprotected sex.
Chikuruwo is not new to controversy.
Sometime in 2016, a police report
was filed against him for allegedly sexually
abusing a grade seven pupil. In trying to
protect Chikuruwo the controversial Ruwona transferred
him overnight to St Michaels Anglican Church in Mutasa
district.
However, the courts acquitted him.
While at St Michaels, Chikuruwo is alleged to
have left the place in a huff after being
alleged to have bedded a cousin in another brazen incest case.
In shame, the alleged sex pest, Chikuruwo, tendered his resignation as a reverend of the church, but again, the controversial
Ruwona turned down the resignation and
instead deployed him at St Emmanuel in Hob
House.
Questions have been asked why the ‘sinning’
reverends remain within the diocese, as
they are being shuffled from one unsuspecting parish to another, and all the while the number of their
sexually-abused victims
mounting.
Chikuruwo refused to comment over the
allegations.
Contacted for a comment, Ruwona said: “As a church
we have not yet received that report
(sexual misconduct).
We have only read that on the social media.”
He added: “But on cases of that matter, the
church has processes and systems to deal
with that. The Bishop has his court. We want evidence.
So when we have that evidence, our Diocesan
Secretary will deal with
it.”
However, concerned observers have said
Chikuruwo’s case is another
classic example of rotten leadership within the
putrid diocese that has gravely tarnished
the image of one of the biggest churches in the world.
Chikuruwo’s continuous protection from the
embattled and continuously faulting
Ruwona is expected to knock the lid off of a culture steeped
in deceit, which has kept sexual misconduct
secrets and fostered an atmosphere where
several well-organized sexual rings could be developed, grow and flourish within the Anglican church.
There are fears that the Anglican Church has
provided harrowing houses
of horror that is spreading sexual terror in the
popular church.
Concerned Manicaland Anglican Diocese members
are concerned by the
Zambia based Archbishop of the Church of the
Province of Central
Africa, Albert Chama and the Episcopal Synod of
the Anglican Church
for failing to appropriately act on Ruwona and
his cabal giving speculation that he
(Chama) is involved in the scandals.
The unpopular Ruwona and his faction are facing
stinking allegations of wanton suspension
of priests, corruption, maladministration and
abuse of church funds amounting to over $2
million.
