Sangoma has a message for Mnangagwa

Munetsi Masheedze, widely known as Murandawashe, has resurfaced with a familiar declaration — he says he has a message for the President of Zimbabwe, this time Emmerson Mnangagwa, claiming it is from ancestral spirits and intended to transform the nation's economy.

Twenty-one years ago, Murandawashe made headlines after he attempted to meet then-President Robert Mugabe with a similar claim. The self-styled spiritual healer was arrested outside the Zimbabwe Newspapers House in 2004, convicted, and forcibly admitted to a psychiatric unit for three days over what authorities described as mental instability.

Now, more than two decades later, Murandawashe insists the message remains urgent and timely.

"I have a message for the President. It is from our ancestors. The message is intended to change economic prospects," he told journalists in Harare this week.

He said the same forces that caused the country's economic collapse under Mugabe's rule are still in play today — and must be addressed urgently.

"I have been quiet for a long time because the ancestors, who are guiding me, had told me to stop," Murandawashe explained. "Now the time has come. I must meet the President and deliver the message in person, not through an intermediary."

He warned that if Mnangagwa or his inner circle refused to facilitate the meeting, he would walk away from the mission.

"I am not begging for attention," he said. "I will just leave it to the spirit which is guiding me. The spirit will reveal itself through supernatural things."

Despite his conviction in his spiritual calling, Murandawashe is often met with skepticism. His previous attempt to engage Mugabe led to his arrest and institutionalisation, prompting many to dismiss him as mentally unstable.

Murandawashe is not a new face to the public. Between 2007 and 2008, he wrote gospel content as a freelance contributor for Kwayedza, a Shona-language weekly newspaper.

In 2009, he drew media attention again when he dragged the late Apostolic Faith Mission pastor, Phanuel Dzangare Chiweshe, to task following his expulsion from the church. At the heart of the dispute was Murandawashe's demand for a refund of his tithe after being ordered to cut his dreadlocks to qualify for a leadership position.

He argued that the church had accepted his tithe with the same hairstyle and should not discriminate when he sought to participate in its affairs. The matter was never resolved, as Chiweshe became ill and later passed away.

As Murandawashe renews his unusual mission to reach Zimbabwe's highest office, questions remain about whether he is a visionary guided by ancestral forces or simply a troubled man seeking attention.

Regardless, his story is a window into the intersection of faith, politics, and mental health in Zimbabwe — and a reminder that the line between prophecy and provocation is often blurred.