Cyberbullying Case Against SDA Evangelist Hits A Snag

Seventh-day Adventist Church Evangelist Sam Marufu walked out of the Harare Magistrates Court a free man on Wednesday after his cyberbullying case stalled and could not be heard by a magistrate.

Marufu, represented by Harare lawyer Admire Rubaya, is accused of cyberbullying three female churchmates, Rotina Mafume Musara, Alasia Mbiriri and Perseverance Muzeya, all of whom are SDA members.

The three women filed complaints alleging that Marufu posted a video of them on social media and mocked them to gain online “likes”.

They said they had recorded the video of themselves preparing to preach, and claimed it was later shared on Marufu’s Facebook page with a caption ridiculing them.

Marufu was arrested over the allegations. However, several contentious issues have stalled the start of the court case.

Prosecutors have declined to take the matter to trial and referred it back to the police for further investigation.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) now wants police to prove that Marufu owns the Facebook page where the contentious claims were posted, and to confirm that he was the one who posted the offending statements.

Police have been tasked with obtaining a report from Facebook owner Meta confirming whether the account belongs to Marufu.

In court, Marufu challenged the three women to prove that he posted the claims on Facebook.

The caption read: “When shepherds have become wolves you, (the) pastor’s wife, your husband has been exposed… for a woman is the glory of man. Muchavaziva nezvibereko zvavo.”

The three women then filed a police report at Marlborough Police Station on Saturday, under RRB 6875200.

More: H-Metro