The Mudzimu Unoyera Sect in Mashonaland Central’s Guruve District believes Jesus lives among them.
The sect is headquartered in Chatiza Village, 22km south of Guruve Business Centre, and The Sunday Mail visited them on Good Friday.
But Jesus was not available.
But her mother Mai Maria (Mother Mary) was around. Her real name is Mrs Entrance Nyanyete.
“I had forgotten that it is Easter. You have actually reminded me of my child’s death,” she said, sobbing.
“This is actually one of the most painful times of my life as it reminds me of the time white people overseas killed my child.”
Her husband, known as “Baba Josefa” (Father Joseph), interjected: “You came here to ask about our Easter celebrations. See how painful it is to her? It is painful to celebrate because this is the day Jesus was killed.”
The gathering once again sang as one follower, Mary, wiped “Mai Maria’s” tears and sprinkled deodorant on her clothes.
“Mai Maria” said Jesus died 2 000 years ago and was reincarnated as Emmanuel Dzanagare Mudyiwa in 1939. Mudyiwa died in 1989 and the spirit found abode in her then six-year-old daughter, Tepsy Nyanyete, in 1998.
The sect believes Tepsy is Jesus, and refer to her as Jepsy Nyanyete, Jekia Mambo, Tenzi or Ishe Jesu. Zimbabweans have come to know her as “Girl Jesus”. She is no girl now. She is 24-years-old.
The arrest of “Mai Maria” and “Baba Josefa” years back for assaulting police officers who were rescuing 160 children at the shrine has not tempered the enthusiasm of followers.
Mrs Nyanyete said: “For us, every Friday is Easter and we remember how they killed my child many years back. We celebrate it in our own way, with our own rituals, which include crying, singing and dancing.
“We are, however, grateful that Jesus came back, and this time, she will not die. She is not going away anymore. She is set to live forever and rule the earth.”
“Mai Maria” took us to “Jesus”, bedroom where a cot, diapers, baby clothes and blankets were neatly arranged. Pretty strange for a 24-year-old. She explained her daughter’s passion for dolls and “introduced” us to one named Dillard.
