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Nude pastor arrested, appears in court

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KWEKWE — Pastor Victor Fire of the New Creation General Ministries who stripped naked at court and allegedly attempted to sexually abuse a woman was arrested by police on Wednesday before appearing in court the following day.

KWEKWE — Pastor Victor Fire of the New Creation General Ministries who stripped naked at court and allegedly attempted to sexually abuse a woman was arrested by police on Wednesday before appearing in court the following day.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Pastor Fire,whose real name, according to court papers,is Thulani Tshakala Makamu (29) was arrested exactly a week after he caused a stir at the court when he stripped naked before scaling a three-metre security gate fleeing from the police.

He appeared before Magistrate Letwin Rwodzi facing contempt of court, assault and indecent exposure charges following his October 28 spectacle which left many people surprised.

It is the State’s case that Makamu stripped off all his clothes, including his underwear, as he left Court A where a pastor from his church was being arraigned for assaulting a woman named Beauty Chinyama.

“He charged towards Chinyama, a State witness, in his naked state and held her head firmly, with one hand while strangling her neck with the other, before she was rescued by William Manyaya and Upenyu Dzova of the Zimbabwe Prison Services,” reads the State outline.

His actions caused Resident Magistrate Taurai Manwere to briefly adjourn the court after giving an order to have Makamu arrested for disrupting court proceedings.

The pastor however bolted out of the yard by jumping over the gate. The State alleges that Makamu marched in his nude to Mbizo some 10km away.

Makamu was not asked to plead. He was remanded in custody to November 21 so that he could be examined by two medical doctors to establish his mental state before going on trial.

State counsel Kudakwashe Chekai told the court that Makamu’s actions were not in line with the behaviour of a normal person.

“The accused exhibited signs of mental instability and does not seem to appreciate the allegations he is facing. Furthermore the accused stripped naked exposing his manhood in public and ran around the whole town after he had attempted to sexually molest one woman in public,” she said.

Makamu confessed to Rwodzi that he was indeed unaware of the charges which were being levelled against him.