“I am shaken. I am beside myself. This has never happened in my life, and I do not know how to tell people about this, including my own relatives."
For self-styled prophet Amos Chituri of Agness Access Apostolic Church (AAAC) based in Zimbabwe's Mutasa district, the combination baptism/exorcism he conducted last July likely seemed like a simple matter. Instead, it resulted in three deaths and propelled Chituri and his fellow congregation members into a mystery that has generated international attention.
Though the 49-year-old Chituri had been called to the nearby village of Tazvigwira to see a mentally ill child, he met with village elder Victor Tazvigwira as a courtesy. Until Chituri "prophesized" that the elder was being haunted by the spirit of a man whose bones he had once found and needed to be cleansed as a result. As a result, Chituri, Tazvigwira, the elder's wife, and two children, along with several youth members of Chituri's congregation, all went to the nearby Musogwezi River on July 21, 2021, for a combination baptism/exorcism ceremony.
All nine people gathered at a shallow pool by the river and removed their shoes to prepare for the ceremony. The pool itself was not considered dangerous and local children often swam there. While Chituri stood at the pool's edge, other congregation members then began "speaking in tongues" and plunged into the pool. They then reportedly heard "huge trembling noise from the pool and the hills above" and reportedly felt a force pushing them under the water. According to Tazvigwira in an interview with media, "We could see each other as we struggled to escape from the bottom of the pool. Surprisingly we never bumped against one another, and we never gulped any water. I raised my hands to try and alert those outside of our predicament. After a while, I mysteriously found myself thrown out of the pool and lying on the ground. I still don’t know how I came out."
It was only while recovering from the ordeal that the group noticed that three were still missing. They were Cosmas Mvicha, Witness Chirombo of Silas Village, and Fungai Berevedzai, a 14-year-old Form 2 girl at Mapakomhere High School. After spending most of the day praying for their safe return, apparently in the belief that the others had been taken away by "mermaids" (part of local folklore). Realizing that their prayers were not effective, Chituri and the remaining group members finally contacted local authorities.
A week-long vigil followed as people waited by the pool to see if the missing villagers would be returned. Though police attempted to send in divers to investigate the pool and river, villagers blocked them, hoping that their traditional rituals might work in getting the three returned safely. Spirit mediums also conducted ceremonies with no real results. Finally, after seven days, the bodies of the three floated to the surface, one at a time over the course of several hours. One of the emerging bodies was even photographed by local media.
While police are still investigating, villagers remain terrified about the mystery surrounding the three deaths. Suffice it say, children are not swimming in that pool, anymore.
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