Magaya should go back to the drawing board

Corrections
TWO weeks ago we published a front page picture depicting thousands of people standing back to back at an all night prayer conducted by PHD ministries at Zindoga shopping centre in Harare.

TWO weeks ago we published a front page picture depicting thousands of people standing back to back at an all night prayer conducted by Prophetic Healing and Deliverance ministries at Zindoga shopping centre in Harare.

Editor’s Desk with Walter Marwizi

The darkened picture told more than a 1 000 words. Here was a huge crowd of people, packed at the open venue probably worse than the proverbial sardines.

One shuddered to think what would happen if one fainted or wanted to leave the venue for some reason, or even to go to the toilet.

How could one nagivate through a crowd touted as 300 000 by the church promoters?

There was little to show that the church had enough security details to help the crowd in the event of a mishap. Worse still, there was no sitting arrangement in place: worshippers were standing in the grass at night, far away from where self-styled prophet Walter Magaya was preaching.

These believers, many of them afflicted by ailments, risked being attacked by snakes or some creepy creatures. Thieves or those who thrive on sexually harassing others may have had a field day at the all-night prayer meeting.

All these things, that may not have appeared important to the worshippers, showed that while Magaya was good at drawing large crowds, he and his team were clueless about how to handle them. Many people who attended that particular service came back shaking their heads over the poor organisation exhibited at this well-subscribed church service.

They pointed out Magaya’s gatherings were a disaster waiting to happen if crowds kept growing and the church failed to come up with a strategy to properly accommodate them. Their fears were confirmed on Thursday when eleven people perished at a PHD prayer meeting in Kwekwe, following a stampede when an estimated 30 000 people tried to leave the venue at night.

Magaya made the right call when he quickly took responsibility for the disaster and offered to assist the grieving families.

“This was our event and as a church we have to take the blame for the tragedy. It is still too early to say what caused the stampede, but the fact that the stampede took place at the venue means that part of our system failed to function,” he said.

Many will wonder why Magaya, who claims to have prophetic and healing powers, failed to foresee such a disaster and take corrective measures. Kwekwe Mayor Matenda Madzoke summed the feelings of many grieving families in the city. “This is a dark day in the history of Kwekwe, worse considering that they died during a church service led by people who claim to have prophecy and can see things in advance.” Magaya, who is a youthful preacher, should learn some lessons from this disaster because the least his ministry expects is to be associated with the deaths of people, especially after disaster also struck the church of his spiritual father, TB Joshua in Nigeria where 115 died. The critical thing for Magaya is to have a security team in place that is capable of handling the large crowds, from the time they arrive until they are safely outside the venue. You can’t leave this in the hands of the police who are notorious for throwing teargas and beating up people, actions that are bound to create a stampede. Magaya should also pay particular attention to the suitability of venues where he holds his services. As someone who claims to have healing and spiritual deliverance powers, he is bound to attract thousands of people, especially in these times of economic hardships. We don’t expect such a crowd puller to choose Mbizo stadium which can only accommodate 9 000. Magaya’s ushers should be able to determine that the venue is full, and create overflows outside where people can watch the proceedings on projectors. This system perfectly worked on United Family International Church’s Judgement Night when over 10 000 were accommodated outside the National Sports Stadium. Allowing everyone in an enclosed venue can only create problems when people are anxious to get out at night. We all learn from others and perhaps Magaya should study how his big brother Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa conducts his better organised “judgment nights” where hundreds of ushers and security personnel help worshippers, even after he leaves the venue. He could also do well by not associating with certain characters that do not help his image as a man of God. The youthful prophet raised eyebrows when he enticed strippers to his congregation with a container-full of clothes. His association with raunchy dancer Beverly Sibanda spectacularly backfired as it ended in mudslinging. Now the ever creative Magaya has roped in Zimdancehall to boost the profile of his church. While this tactic may draw crowds to Magaya’s services, Zimdancehall is sadly associated with violence in Zimbabwe and too many times, shows are abandoned after chaos ensues. It is ironic that violence broke out after Tocky Vibes had finished performing and some people who were spotted drinking beer, were keen to get out of the stadium. We believe some of these drunken Zimdancehall fanatics were competing for space to leave Mbizo stadium with the sick, elderly and children who had come for spiritual healing. Since the disaster has already happened, and cannot be reversed, it could be time for Magaya and his advisers to take a hard look at their organisation and plot a future that is not ridden with controversy.

Violent and bloody elections ahead
By The Standard Aug. 28, 2022
Ziyambi’s Gukurahundi remarks revealing
By The Standard Aug. 21, 2022
Time to plan for returning residents
By The Standard Aug. 14, 2022
Charging school fees in forex unreasonable
By The Standard Aug. 7, 2022