HARARE — Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Walter Magaya has applied for rape allegations by three women to be referred to the Constitutional Court, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, irregular DNA procedures and violations of his right to a fair trial.
Magaya told the Harare Regional Magistrates Court on Tuesday that the prosecution has acted improperly and that the criminal process against him has become unconstitutional.
In an affidavit tendered by his lawyers, Magaya said: “This is an application for referral to the Constitutional Court of certain questions touching on the validity of certain processes which affect my fundamental rights.”
Magaya is faces rape allegations by six accusers, but his application for referral to the Constitutional Court only mentions three women. He maintains the allegations are false.
“I stand charged with six counts of rape… relating to three complainants,” he says. “I have consistently and vehemently denied all these allegations.”
Magaya’s application places significant weight on an affidavit filed by one of the complainants who stated that she no longer wishes to testify.
Magaya says the affidavit was served on the National Prosecuting Authority but a senior prosecutor initially denied its existence.
“I fortuitously managed to lay my hands on the withdrawal affidavit relating to (name of woman withheld) which had been served on the NPA but had been alleged to be non-existent,” he says.
“The affidavit confirms that the complainant no longer wishes to testify and that she has… communicated this position to the Prosecutor General.”
Magaya argues that continuing with the prosecution in such circumstances is legally untenable.
“A complaint originates from a complainant, while a charge originates from the state. Yet a charge cannot exist in a vacuum, it is founded upon the complaint,” he says.
“Without the complaint, the charge collapses.”
Magaya also accuses prosecutors of improperly interfering with evidence relating to another complainant who lives in the Republic of Ireland.
According to the affidavit, a senior prosecutor told the court that the state was amending her witness statement, something Magaya says exceeds the role of prosecutors.
“The recording and amendment of witness statements is part of investigations, which is the exclusive role of the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” he says.
“In this case, the public prosecutors admitted to amending a witness statement clearly dissatisfied with the original version because it did not advance the narrative they intended to choreograph against me.”
Magaya says he was never served with the original statement that led to his arrest and was instead given a later statement dated February 27, 2026.
“The net effect is that I stand accused on the basis of a manipulated and unlawful process, where the prosecution has abandoned its constitutional role of impartiality and has instead descended into the arena, manufacturing evidence to sustain charges,” he argues.
Magaya also disputes how police obtained his DNA.
He says investigators secured a search and seizure warrant without allowing him or his lawyers to make representations, before taking him from Harare Remand Prison to Parirenyatwa Hospital where samples were extracted.
“I was then taken from Harare Remand Prison to Parirenyatwa Hospital against my will and in the absence of my legal practitioners, where my DNA was extracted,” he says.
Magaya further claims that the results of the DNA test have not been disclosed to him.
“I have not been served with the results of that DNA test, nor have I been informed of what has happened to the samples,” he says.
“I cannot prepare a proper defence when the state conceals evidence that it itself deemed important enough to obtain through a court order.”
Magaya wants the magistrate to refer several constitutional questions to the Constitutional Court, including whether the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to proceed with the trial violates his rights to equality before the law, liberty and a fair trial.
“I submit that the issues that I raise are serious and warrant the grant of relief upon their consideration,” he says.
“The relief they entitle me is an immediate cessation of this unconstitutional process.”
If the application is granted, the criminal proceedings in the Magistrates Court would be stayed pending the Constitutional Court’s determination of the issues.
The post Magaya asks magistrate to refer rape charges to Constitutional Court appeared first on Zimbabwe News Now.