By Dickson Bandera
The Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission Mrs Margaret Sangarwe this Tuesday provided an update on the long-standing case involving PHD Ministries leader Prophet Walter Magaya, citing legal challenges and a lack of cooperation from witnesses as key obstacles—but indicated that there is renewed hope for progress.
Responding to questions from journalists about the delays, the Commissioner explained that the investigation has been significantly hindered by legal resistance and the reluctance of crucial witnesses to come forward.
“What you need to understand is that when we do investigations as the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, we are not allowed by law to rely on secondary information. We have to speak directly to witnesses and then use the information we get from them to move the process forward,” she said.
“I think beginning of or towards the end of last year, we had heard that there were some witnesses, but we were not getting them. They were not coming to us. We even had, at some point, a situation where some people attended services hoping to obtain information. But what I can tell you right now is that there have been some problems, without going into detail,” she added.
She also detailed the legal hurdles that delayed the investigation.
“He went to court to challenge the authority of the Commission to investigate him. He went to the High Court, and then we won. So he appealed to the Supreme Court, and we had to go to the Supreme Court, which decided that we had the authority to investigate.”
“So that was part of the delay—we were being challenged on our authority as a Commission to investigate him.”
Despite these challenges, the Commission has signaled that it now possesses new information that could potentially move the case forward, though it has declined to reveal details, citing confidentiality and legal considerations.
“And we are very sure that as of now, we’ve got the kind of information that can then enable us to really say with… what advice we can give to other individuals,” she said.
In addressing broader concerns regarding apostolic church leaders, she added:
“I think we have done, as a Commission, our best in terms of investigating—even the case of Madzibaba Ishmael. All we can do as a Commission is to investigate. Once we investigate, we then present our findings to the authorities so that they can take action,” she said.
The Zimbabwe Gender Commission is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary, having been established in 2015 under Section 245 of the 2013 Constitution. It became fully operational in 2016 through the enactment of the ZGC Act (Chapter 10:31).
As one of the independent commissions supporting democracy under Chapter 12 of national constitution, ZGC was created to promote gender equality, investigate gender rights violations, monitor compliance with gender laws, and advise on policy and legislative reforms.
The Commission was officially launched on 3 September 2015, with the appointment of nine inaugural commissioners by then President Robert Mugabe. These pioneers laid the institutional foundation of the Commission’s work.
Today, the Commission has acquired its first permanent headquarters — the House of Gender Equality — set to be officially opened soon in Harare. This landmark facility will stand as both a symbol of progress and a hub for public engagement, advocacy, and knowledge exchange on gender equality.
