A group of women can be heard chatting animatedly on a bus ride from their rural homes in the Zimunya area in eastern Zimbabwe to a nearby border city of Mutare. They are talking about their access to health services. The women belong to one of Zimbabwe’s many indigenous apostolic religious sects. This ultraconservative sect forbids its members from seeking modern health services, relying instead on faith healing.

Members of these apostolic churches are easily recognized by their long white robes, white headscarves or doeks for women, and clean-shaven heads and long beards for men. On weekends, the sects hold open-air church gatherings across the country. Although estimates vary, experts suggest there are more than 160 indigenous apostolic churches in Zimbabwe, with members comprising a quarter of the country’s total population.

Many of these highly conservative apostolic churches prohibit their members from seeking modern healthcare, including immunizations for their children at hospitals and clinics. As a result, many women die during pregnancy or childbirth. One case that sparked public outcry in Zimbabwe was when a fourteen-year-old girl, Memory Machaya, died while giving birth at an apostolic church shrine in July 2021. Machaya bled to death due to complications that the church’s midwives could not rectify. Many maternal and child mortality cases go unreported to authorities.

Maternal mortality is significantly underreported in Zimbabwe, leading to its exclusion from national statistics. This underreporting contributes to a high maternal mortality ratio of 462 deaths per 100,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 32 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to a recent study. For comparison, the global average is around 223 deaths per 100,000 live births. The neonatal mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa is about 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a global average of 17 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

Near the banks of the Chitora River, about 50 kilometers south of Mutare, an elderly midwife has gained notoriety for assisting pregnant women of apostolic sects at her shrine. The shrine has become an outpost of death for pregnant mothers and newborn babies. With the assistance of the midwife, women deliver their babies in unhygienic conditions with no modern healthcare or essential medicines. Several women in these sects have lost all their babies either during childbirth or before the age of two. One woman told More to Her Story that she lost more than ten babies. Now past childbearing age, she has no surviving children; all died in infancy. She was married to a polygamous man who had thirteen other wives; he later died. Polygamy is still widely practiced among some apostolic sect members, and child marriages are also rampant despite efforts by the Zimbabwe government and NGOs to curb the practice.

Children born to members of these sects die in large numbers from preventable or treatable diseases. From April to October 2022, Zimbabwe experienced one of the worst measles outbreaks in decades, killing more than 750 children, mostly from apostolic sects.

“I now resort to seeking medical attention for my children behind my husband's back,” says one woman who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from her husband and church leaders. “Many other women are doing the same, but it is very risky; we risk our marriages and church membership if caught. But that's the only way to save our lives and our children. I have managed to immunize and save five of my children. I’m now on birth control, and my husband does not even know that.” 

While the Zimbabwe government has worked closely with apostolic sect leaders to encourage them to embrace modern medicine, neighboring Mozambique has taken a tougher stance. In 2023, the Mozambican Ministry of Justice banned the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church, which operated in the central province of Manica. The Mozambican government alleged that the sect was “promoting child marriages and disrespecting health issues.” The church, which has roots in Zimbabwe, has operated in Mozambique since 2003.

Apostle Golden Zininga, president of the Council of Indigenous Churches of Africa, says that although religion has played and continues to play a profound role in human life, certain religious beliefs and practices have proved detrimental to children's development.

Apostle Zininga leads the Apostolic Faith Revival Church International. He told More to Her Story, “As a council, we seek to explore how religious beliefs and practices contribute to the abuse and neglect of women and children in indigenous churches. The information I present is from first-hand experience since I work with these churches every day,”

He adds that the Holy Spirit is often used as an intimidating tool, instilling fear in members to avoid doing certain things, like going to the hospital, as they fear it will curse their lives.

“They believe that girls should have minimal schooling and therefore, when the girl reaches puberty, she is ripe for marriage. Some doctrines suppress women and children; even the father will help implement the doctrinal rules and regulations in their families,” Apostle Zininga says.

He explains that these practices often result in women and girls being seen as inferior in society, and the death rate within these groups is high. Women are denied the right to go to hospitals, but some husbands help their wives go to hospitals secretly.

“Thank God, these days, some women send their children to hospitals secretly, and even they themselves visit secretly,” he says.

To address these issues, the Council of Indigenous Churches of Africa conducts awareness campaigns, trains church leaders, educates children, and empowers women, among other initiatives.

“We have opened a vocational college and many activities that help children and women. As a council, we need to curb these detrimental beliefs, but our major challenges are the resources to go around Zimbabwe, such as money and a utility vehicle [a vehicle used to travel over rough roads to connect urban centers and remote villages].” Apostle Zininga says.

However, Bishop Andby Makururu, who leads the Johane the Fifth of Africa International Church, an apostolic church based in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland province, says there are slow transformations within the apostolic sects. Many sect leaders are warming up to modern health services. Bishop Makururu and his church have embraced modern medicine. He is now leading awareness and training of other apostolic church leaders on the importance of clinics and hospitals. He says his church is building one of the largest hospitals in the country.

“Hospitals and clinics are important; our health is very important. Apostolic church leaders should value the importance of clinics and hospitals. They should encourage their followers to seek assistance from hospitals and clinics,” Bishop Makururu says.