Police in Mansa have arrested Bishop John Mwelwa of Healing Cross Ministries Church
for raping a 17-year old girl and defiling another aged 15.

Bishop John Mwelwa has since been charged with offenses of Rape contraty to Section 132 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 and defilement Contrary to Section 138 Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

Below is a full statement from Police;

Brief facts of matter are that the victim had persistent abdominal pains and her parents took her to Bishop John Mwelwa who prophesied that she had cotton in her abdomen and the bishop gave her an appointment to see him on September18,2022 around 10:00 hours. When the parents took her there, on the material day the 18th September, 2022 the Bishop demanded that the Victim should go alone with him so that he can go and remove the cotton.

On September 19, 2022 around 13:00 hours the victim went to the Bishop who asked her to embark in his vehicle and he took her to a named lodge where the bishop is accused of having raped her when he inserted his manhood in her private part as a way of removing the cotton from the abdomen which the Bishop had earlier prophesied. She sustained painful private part and abdominal pains.

With regards to the defilement case brief facts are that the Bishop was approached by a parent of a Female Juvenile aged 15 who had a condition of having milk coming out of her breast on an unknown date on a Sunday in March, 2022 at Healing Cross Ministries Church. The Bishop requested the victim to come on a Monday the following day where he told her that she had cotton wool in her stomach which needed to be removed. He later on gave her anointing oil to drink.

The Bishop then drove to a named lodge where he booked a room and applied anointing oil on her private parts and breast whilst purportedly removing the cotton. He informed the victim that the cotton was still remaining and asked her if she could go and have it removed within fifteen minutes by way of having canal knowledge with her boyfriend if she had one.

The victim responded that she didn’t have a boyfriend and that is how he defiled the juvenile purporting that he was removing the remaining cotton.

The suspect is detained in Police custody and will appear in court soon.

We would like to re-echo our warning to persons posing as men of God with a sole purpose of preying on their congregants or persons seeking spiritual help.As a Law enforcement agency we shall ensure.