Johane Marange apostolic sect leaders spent two days massaging and bathing the late high priest Noah Taguta Momberume’s body with hot water in an attempt to resurrect their leader, NewZimbabwe.com reports.
Members of the Taguta family confided with NewZimbabwe.com that the priest died on Thursday last week but was only announced early Sunday morning after fervent efforts to bring him back to life failed.
NewZimbabwe.com reports that the sect leaders kept Taguta’s death a secret for two days and only announced the sad news only after they had given up on the resurrection effort which went on for two days and two nights.
The sect’s counsels, for the two days, blocked his sons from accessing their father’s body as they performed their rituals and warned them against announcing his demise hoping they would succeed in their undertaking.
The relatives, who declined to be named, said church prophets chased Taguta’s sons away from his palace. One relative said:
After being informed of Mutumwa’s death on Sunday around 8am, we later received news from the palace, around 11am that he had risen from death. Since people were not allowed to enter the palace, the leaders who were allowed inside started peddling falsehoods that Taguta had resurrected.
The priest’s sons, Noah and Nisbert, were chased away from the palace after their plea for church prophets to announce the death. They instead chased them away claiming they were no longer in good books with their father.
They kept massaging the high priest’s body with cloths and washing it with hot water waiting for his resurrection.
Another close relative said there were squabbles which only subsided after headman Mafararikwa intervened.
The source said that is when a consensus to announce the death was reached and then people started to properly mourn. Added the source:
Headman Mafararikwa was given the opportunity to check inside and they realised that Mutumwa’s body was now in an inflammation state. The corpse was now decomposing. A coffin was then brought. Had it not been for the cold spell, Mutumwa’s body could have burst.
Taguta is survived by 25 official wives, and more who are alleged to have been offered to him during the church’s gatherings numbering over a hundred.
He is said to have left 120 children.
More: NewZimbabwe.com