Zimbabwe’s High Court rejects an appeal by a Zion Christian Church (ZCC) bishop who is serving a jail term after the death of a congregant during an exorcism. According to the court’s ruling, the bishop argued that the assault that led to the woman’s death was part of a religious healing ritual. The court does not accept this position, stating that the claim of religious healing cannot outweigh medical evidence.
The judges find that the congregant died from injuries inflicted during the beating associated with the exorcism. In dismissing the appeal, the court maintains that the fatal harm is established by medical findings and that a religious context does not provide justification for violence that results in death.
Both reports describe the decision as a confirmation of the earlier conviction and sentence, emphasizing that the prosecution’s evidence regarding the cause of death is decisive in the case.
