AFM pastor in sex scandal

23 Sep, 2018 - 00:09 0 Views
AFM pastor in sex scandal

The Sunday Mail

Brian Chitemba
Religious Affairs Acting Editor
APOSTOLIC Faith Mission in Zimbabwe theological college Principal Pastor Lovejoy Chabata has been sucked into a messy sex scandal after being accused of molesting one of his female subordinates.

Pastor Chabata, who is the Living Waters Theological Seminary principal, allegedly made sexual advances to his professional assistant, Ms Victoria Phiri on Friday August 10th, 2018.

Ms Phiri made a formal complaint against Pastor Chabata on September 3, 2018, in an internal memo written to the seminary’s Tynwald campus coordinator, Reverend Irene Chatora.

Contacted for comment, Pastor Chabata refused to comment before referring questions to AFM secretary general, Reverend Amon Madawu.

“I am not allowed to discuss anything related to the church, so may you please get in touch with Rev Madawu,” he said.

Rev Madawu said he was not aware of the sexual harassment allegations.
“We have a committee on education and it hasn’t reported anything to me,” he said.

However, in a letter titled ‘Complaint of sexual harassment,’ Ms Phiri narrated how she was allegedly abused by Pastor Chabata.

She wrote, “It was on a Friday 10 August 2018 at 16.45pm when the principal Pastor Lovejoy Chabata called me to his office to file documents which were lying on his table. I went to his office and started to do the filing in his presence and he asked me to change one of the files and replace it with a book which was on his table.

“He asked me to put the book on top of his filing cabinet. As I finished placing the book there, he had moved from his chair and he was standing tightly hugging me and l had to push him away. He continued holding my right hand, rubbing it inside my palm and I quickly left his office.

“He called me back to his office to file another document which he said was on his table. When I went back to his office, he said he wanted to come to my house to spend the day with me.

“He then said he feared that my boys would beat him up. On Friday 17 August 2018, Pastor L Chabata said he had found me a house to rent in Marlborough for $500 despite the fact that I had not asked him to look for a house for me.

“He started pestering me about the issue saying he wanted to go view the house with me and would leave my car at work. He even offered to look for people who would share the house with me.”
The Living Waters Theological Seminary is a renowned Bible training college in Zimbabwe and draws students from across Africa.

It has groomed many prominent preachers who are running mega churches within and outside AFM.

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