A Harare magistrate dismisses an application by Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Walter Magaya to refer his rape case to Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court. In the ruling, Magistrate Francis Mapfumo rejects Magaya’s request on the grounds that he does not raise any constitutional issues that would justify the matter being elevated to the Constitutional Court. The decision follows Magaya’s argument that prosecutors are subjecting him to conduct he says amounts to constitutional violations. Zimbabwe Independent and New Zimbabwe report that the court finds the application does not meet the threshold for constitutional referral. The case therefore remains before the magistrates’ court. The reports indicate that the magistrate’s dismissal is procedural and based on the absence of specific constitutional questions, rather than a determination on the underlying allegations. Magaya’s application is therefore unsuccessful, and the rape prosecution continues in the lower court.