'Facebook rapist' behind bars, but victims' trauma continue

Mukovhe Vincent Makhavhu is in jail, awaiting sentencing for his crimes. Many of his victims hope he will remain locked up, never to see the light of day again. Dubbed the "Facebook rapist," he left a trail of destruction in his wake, and his victims may take a long time to recover.

The case of the "Facebook prophet" is significant for several reasons. It highlights how easily people can be deceived on social-media platforms, unable to discern between fake profiles and real individuals. It also underscores the dangers of the online world, where innocent people can be falsely accused of crimes, without recourse.

On Wednesday, 24 April, Makhavhu was found guilty of four counts of rape, one of sexual assault, and another of robbery. The case, which served in the High Court in Thohoyandou, was postponed to June 3 for a pre-sentencing report.

His fake profile, under the name “Elma Mutavhatsindi,” caught the attention of the media back in March 2021. Limpopo Mirror reported about the rape allegations against this so-called “prophet” who used his social-media account to make contact with women and ended up raping and assaulting them.

Makhavhu grew his Facebook profile by making ludicrous claims about his own abilities. He promised his followers free prayer sessions for various needs, such as job opportunities, marital problems, and healing and cleansing. He also created a lot of controversy by pointing out people as witches and fingering some prominent names as being behind deaths in the area. At one stage, the “Elma Mutavhatsindi” Facebook page had more than 100,000 followers.

But the pressure started building when one of his rape victims went on national radio to warn people about “Elma Mutavhatsindi.” The woman, whose name may not be revealed, described how she had been lured to the bushes near Phiphidi village, where she had been attacked and raped.

The woman said she had responded to comments on the Facebook page and engaged in a conversation with someone who had presented himself as a “prophet.” After gaining her confidence, he gave her the phone numbers of a certain Ndivhuwo, and the two agreed to meet the next day at Phiphidi.

What happened at Phiphidi was a nightmare that will be etched in the woman’s mind forever. She was lured to the river by the man, where she was raped. She later managed to escape and ran to a nearby village, where three children came to her rescue. The matter was then reported to the police.

In a recent interview with Limpopo Mirror, she said that she was glad that Makhavhu had been found guilty, but for the scars to heal will take a long time. “This is a trauma that I will have to live with for the rest of my life, but I am very happy that, finally, we have found justice. I have been doing okay, but whenever I am alone for a long time, it all comes back to my mind,” she said.

The incident has also destroyed her marriage. “After that radio interview, my marriage was never the same, and we ended up divorcing. I went through a lot over the past three years, and I even tried to commit suicide, but with the help I received from the community and social workers, I have gained confidence, and I can now walk in public and not mind what people are talking about,” she said.

Makhavhu seemingly did not only keep himself busy with luring women into areas where he could rape them. He also tried to con people under the guise that, as a “prophet,” he has visionary powers.

Some victims of Makhavhu are the Nemaranzhe family from Duthuni near Thohoyandou. The Nemaranzhe family was searching for their daughter, Rolivhuwa, who went missing in 2021, and “Elma Mutavhatsindi” took advantage of their situation by trying to extort R25,000 from them. They were told that their daughter had been kidnapped and was being held hostage in a flat in Gauteng. The family was told that they first had to pay the R25,000 ransom.

In a recent interview, the missing girl’s sister, Thina Nemaranzhe, said she was glad that Makhavhu had had his day in court, and they trusted that he would receive a hefty sentence. “He has hurt a lot of people. We were also crying when he tried to scam us out of our money,” she said. Thina added that “Elma Mutavhatsindi” had written a lot of disturbing things about her sister that were very hurtful. She added that the family was still searching for Rolivhuwa, and they were hopeful that they would find her one day.

But the “Elma Mutavhatsindi” case had another victim, who was falsely accused of being the fake prophet and rapist. Mutshidzi Rakhuhu was arrested in 2021 and only released seven weeks later, when the Sibasa Regional Court granted him bail of R1,000. On Thursday, 22 June 2021, the same court announced that the charges against him would be dropped because of a lack of evidence.

By then, the investigators had probably realised that the real rapist was on the run. Makhavhu had to appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court in August 2021 on an unknown charge. The court, not knowing that the police in Limpopo were searching for him in connection with five charges of rape, released him.

Makhavhu’s luck ran out when he was turned over to the police by a Vhembe-based traditional healer. He visited the sangoma and asked her to use her powers to make the criminal charges disappear. She knew about his evil deeds, however, and called the police, who came and arrested him.

Although the arrest was some consolation for Mutshidzi Rakhuhu, the damage had already been done. “When I was arrested, I trended all over, and my image was tarnished. I am thankful to the police who have arrested Makhavhu and gathered all the evidence. I am slowly recovering from the damage that was done to my reputation. I now get to go anywhere, even though some people still call me ‘Elma’. I want the people to know the real Elma,” he said.

Date:17 May 2024

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

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