Prophet Magaya faces $500,000 adultery suit

CONTROVERSIAL Harare preacher Prophet Walter Magaya holds a two-day crusade in Bulawayo starting today - but his mind will be firmly in Harare where lawyers are filing a $500,000 lawsuit brought by a man who claims he had an affair with his wife.

Harare man Denford Mutashu says Magaya exchanged saucy text messages with his wife, Nomsa Ruvazhe, and was recorded on tape admitting to having an adulterous affair with her.

Magaya's Healing and Deliverance Ministries is one of the fastest growing churches in Zimbabwe, with claims that he can perform miracles.

He will take centre stage at AmaZulu Sports Club in Bulawayo today and tomorrow with thousands expected to attend services which will begin at 5PM and end at 9PM over the two nights.

His publicists say he will dish out "anointing that breaks the yoke of the devil and resurrection power" at the free-to-attend services.

But the Chitungwiza-born preacher, a father of two who is married to banker, Tendai Katsiga-Magaya, requires a different kind of anointing for himself to beat accusations of infidelity and avoid the huge payout.

Mutashu's lawyer, Norman Mugiya, wrote a letter of demand to Magaya on August 4 but the preacher had not made a settlement out of court.

Mugiya, speaking yesterday, said they had been left with no choice but to take the matter to court, with papers set to be filed at the Harare High Court today.

Mugiya said they were in possession of racy text messages and a printout of mobile phone communications between Magaya and Ruvazhe.

"Our client is in possession of video recordings where you admitted to have had an improper relationship with his wife," wrote Mugiya in the letter of demand.

"Our client then intercepted love text messages in her (Ruvazhe's) phone from you, Mr Walter Magaya, and our client also made a printout of the communication between yourself and our client's wife.

"Our client also noted that the affair between yourself and his wife has been going on for sometime and we are also in possession of communication which you made with our client's wife while in South Africa."

The lawyer claimed Magaya was still sending love text messages to Ruvazhe even after meeting Mutashu in a bid to reach an out-of-court settlement.

"What is sad is that even after you had a meeting with our client to resolve the matter at your church premises, you are still exchanging love text messages with our client's wife through your close associates whom you treat as counsellors at your church and also bodyguards," read the letter.

Efforts to get a comment from Prophet Magaya were fruitless as his close associates blocked our Harare Bureau from getting his side of the story.

Mutashu said trouble started when his wife went to Magaya's church. The preacher allegedly asked her to stay at one of his lodges for three consecutive days without Mutashu's knowledge.

After Mutashu's "frantic efforts to locate his wife", he found her with Magaya who claimed he was "spiritually assisting her", the lawyers say.

Ruvazhe, added the lawyers, had left the matrimonial home for Magaya's "company", and has been acting "aggressive and rude" to her husband.