'I am not fighting Zanu-PF,' says Prophet Magaya

Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader, Walter Magaya says he is not at war with Zanu-PF after the party's youth boss in the capital, Godwin Gomwe, attacked him for lambasting apostolic sects.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of his "Big Sunday service" in Harare, Magaya said Gomwe, who warned him against attacking apostolic sects as they supported Zanu-PF, was not speaking on behalf of the party.

"The warning did not come from the Zanu-PF youth league, it came from the Zanu-PF youth leader. I am not at war with Zanu-PF and I have not been warned by any Zanu-PF official, but the comment came from a Zanu-PF youth leader," Magaya said.

"He (Gomwe) was speaking on his beliefs, which are very fair, I think."

Last week, Gomwe came out guns-blazing against the popular preacher, saying he must stop attacking or even criticising the apostolic faith movement as they were "Zanu-PF's all-weather friends" who have helped the party win elections in past polls.

"His church is not special. His church is not perfect and he should leave Vapostori alone," Gomwe said. "We are not happy with what he said and we are warning him as a party to stop attacking Vapostori."

But the PHD founder, who commands thousands of followers at his Waterfalls church, including foreign dignitaries and envoys, said his utterances on Vapostori would not change "just because Gomwe has spoken against it" as he said so after being instructed by "God".

"I said that (about apostolic sects) after being told by God and I have written a book to explain that… I hope people will find time to read it and understand what the Lord told me to reveal," he said.

In his booklet titled Marine Spirits, Mweya Yemumvura: Teaching by Prophet W Magaya, he said members of the apostolic sects derived their doctrine from spirits that reside in the marine kingdom and that they do not believe in the Bible.

"It is from these Orion and Leviathan spirits of the marine kingdom where false, non-Bible believing white garment churches (mapositori ekumasowe) are derived," Magaya writes

"It is also unfortunate that many people have been deceived to follow or visit these kinds of shrines (masowe) in an effort to go over their problems, yet to no avail.

"Many people who have visited these non-Bible believing churches have had their problems worsened, while others have been permanently hooked to them after receiving various continuous serious threats including death (zviga zverufu netsaona), thereby becoming members."

Most apostolic sects have identified themselves with the ruling Zanu-PF and have mobilised support for the party and President Robert Mugabe.

The Big Sunday was attended by thousands of congregants who included Mozambique's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Pedro Davane, among other dignitaries.

The centre of attraction during the Big Sunday, where Magaya launched a new brand of anointing oil for his congregants, was Sungara icon, Suluman Chimbetu, who belted out popular hits to keep the crowd dancing the entire morning while waiting for the grand arrival of Magaya.

Sulu, as he is affectionately known in the showbiz circles, belted out popular songs such as Sean Timba, Nyuchi, Tenda and Phone Yangu, among other songs, sending the crowd into ecstasy.

Asked to comment why Sulu performed secular music at the church function, Magaya said he allowed the Dendera supremo to showcase his talent so as to deter  youths from his church from sneaking out of the "holy place" to get entertainment from pubs and other shady places.

"My thinking and my belief is that if they agree to come and sing at church, I will be preventing the youths from going out there where they can see a lot of things, where there are lions. I believe if they sing in our church I can see them celebrating and dancing under the house of God, It's better than stopping them from going out in the night and cheating me. So it's better I bring them in here (sic).

"I know Tocky Vibes is popular with the youths and Suluman is very popular with the elders and the youths that's why I brought him here. But all these musicians you see, they request first saying ‘prophet can I come and sing at your church' hence you see them here (sic)," he said.