Chimoio. — Mozambican police at the weekend detained a self-styled “prophet” who used his religious activities to front for his real career as a burglar.

The “prophet”, 35-year-old Crispine Baptista, is accused of a string of burglaries in Chimoio, capital of the central province of Manica, and in Machipanda, on the border with Zimbabwe.
He would visit houses, supposedly to prophesy, but in reality he was reconnoitring the homes of victims, intending to return after nightfall to burgle them.

Baptista confessed his crimes, and said he turned to robbery as from 2018. He said this was “the devil’s work”, although he had sworn to serve God.
“I stole in Machipanda and in Chimoio”, he said.

“I visited some of the places by day for my work of prophecy, but I would also reconnoitre. At night I would rob. Many victims are my patients” (as he described those who used his prophetic services).

“I don’t know what happened to me”, he added. “This can only be the work of the devil. I am a religious man and a prophet. I have sworn to serve God.”

“I stole to help my family”, he claimed. “After the thefts, I sold the goods in Chimoio.”

After Baptista’s arrest, the police recovered some of the stolen property.

The Manica provincial police spokesperson, Mateus Mindu, said the arrest of the “prophet” was thanks to denunciations by members of the public-The Herald