Zimbabwe: State Pushes Court to Compel Magaya to Plead, Accuses Him of Delaying Rape Trial

Prosecutors have asked a Harare court to compel Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Walter Magaya to formally plead to rape charges, accusing him of filing a string of "frivolous and vexatious" court applications meant to stall the start of his criminal trial.

In an application filed at the Harare Regional Magistrates Court under criminal record CRB R139/26, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe said the accused had "devised a spurious stratagem of frustrating the State and its witnesses from protection of the law and access to justice."

The State wants the court to order the accused to plead to the charge in terms of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, arguing that the law requires an accused person to answer to the charge once it is read out in court.

"Once those principles are published there is no person or authority with power to upset those principles through disguised frivolous and vexatious court applications clothed under a right to a fair trial," prosecutors said in the application.

The prosecution argued that the Constitution places the responsibility for criminal prosecutions on the Prosecutor General through the National Prosecuting Authority and that the decision to prosecute the cleric followed police investigations into allegations against him.

"It is common cause that the Police carried out investigations into various allegations of crimes by the accused and the Prosecutor General decided to prosecute the accused," the State said.

Prosecutors stressed that Zimbabwe's criminal justice system is adversarial and that the public prosecutor has the authority to decide whether criminal proceedings should be instituted and what charges should be brought.

"In an adversarial system the public prosecutor is dominus litis as he or she has discretion on whether to institute criminal proceedings as well as what charges to prefer against the accused," the application reads.

The State also accused the cleric of filing repeated pre-trial applications that have delayed the start of the trial despite what prosecutors described as a prima facie case against him.

"None of prosecutorial indiscretions has been alleged or proved by the accused except making piecemeal court applications and pre-trial motions designed to frustrate the smooth commencement of the trial," the prosecution said.

Prosecutors warned that continued delays were harmful not only to the justice system but also to witnesses expected to testify in the case.

"Some witnesses suffer secondary trauma whilst being held captive to a motionless trial and the huge financial burden on the fiscus if witness care is to be taken into account," the State said.

The application also highlighted the impact prolonged delays can have on alleged victims of sexual offences.

"The concept of security of the accused person equally applies to victims of rape to encompass protection against overlong subjection to the vexations and vicissitudes of a pending criminal trial," prosecutors said, adding that delays could expose victims to "stigmatisation, loss of privacy, stress and anxiety."

The state argued that criminal trials must proceed within a reasonable time to maintain public confidence in the justice system.

"Victims may be devastated by criminal acts. They have a special interest and good reason to expect that criminal trials take place within a reasonable time," the prosecution said.

Prosecutors further argued that the community also has a legitimate interest in seeing criminal matters resolved promptly.

"All members of the community are thus entitled to see that the justice system works fairly, effectively and with reasonable dispatch," the application reads.

The State said that if the accused refuses to enter a plea, the court should invoke provisions of the law that allow a plea of not guilty to be entered on his behalf so the trial can proceed.

"Wherefore, the State prays for an order directing the accused to plead in terms of the law," the prosecution said in its application dated March 11, 2026.

The matter remains before the Harare Regional Magistrates Court.

This article originally appeared on New Zimbabwe.