A hit-man allegedly hired by pastor and founder of Gospel of the Kingdom Ministries in Chitungwiza narrated in court last week how the “man of the cloth” assigned him to eliminate his congregants for a prize.
Thomas Makoni (28) of Waterfalls, Harare, is alleged to have hired his friend Talent Nyakunengwa to kill members from his church, accusing them of spreading falsehoods. Nyakunengwa told the court that they were best friends with Makoni and at times they would commit robberies together.
Narrating the incidents, Nyakunengwa told the court that his friend of 13 years approached him for a favour.
“I know Makoni as my friend since 2002 and in June he came to my house with Godfrey Sithole around midnight, said Nyakunengwa. He gave me a task to kill and bomb his church members who had caused chaos in his church. He would visit me daily saying I was delaying, instructing me to kill Kudakwashe Elliot and Abraham Kabodo by assaulting them and leaving them for dead.”
Nyakunengwa alleged that Makoni told him that the pair was supposed to die a painful death and acknowledge that he (Makoni) was superior. “Makoni said he wanted them dead because they were causing chaos by telling people of his misdemeanors, he said. Makoni said Elliot was telling people who had been involved in an accident that it was due to his juju. Makoni also instructed me to kill Mrs Chinhamo (Afra Nhanhanga) for financing Kudakwashe and Abraham so that they would withdraw from their church. Mrs Chinhamo was supposed to be petrol bombed and die on the spot.”
After that, Nyakunengwa said, he was supposed to deal with a person only identified as Wiseman who had been assisted by Mrs Chinhamo to open a church next to that of Makoni. Nyakunengwa said he was supposed to receive a Mazda Demio and $100 per victim.
Asked why Makoni approached him, Nyakunengwa said: “He knew that I was a person of violent disposition and we grew up together committing robberies.” Makoni denied two counts of incitement to commit murder before Chitungwiza resident magistrate Mrs Renika Dzikiti and was remanded to January 7 next year.