Zanu PF, Magaya bury differences

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ZANU PF and Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Prophet Walter Magaya have buried their differences after massive fallout over attacks on Vapostori by the religious leader.

ZANU PF and Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Prophet Walter Magaya have buried their differences after massive fallout over attacks on Vapostori by the religious leader.

BY EVERSON MUSHAVA/MOSES MATENGA

Magaya came under fire from Zanu PF with the party youths threatening to mobilise and stage a demonstration at the Prophet’s church in Waterfalls.

There were reports last week that Harare Zanu PF youths led by their chairman Godwin Gomwe were mobilising to stage demonstrations against Magaya in solidarity with Mapostori before a “truce” was reached.

Gomwe yesterday said he discussed the matter with Magaya’s lawyer, Everson Chatambudza who cleared the air. He said it was not his intention to storm Magaya’s church to protest against the prophet’s attack on the apostolic sect.

“There are no such plans but what I got through his lawyer is that he did not attack Mapostori but the media exaggerated and I asked him to go and engage with (Johannes) Ndanga of the Apostolic Churches Council of Zimbabwe,” Gomwe said yesterday.

He said Magaya’s lawyers assured him and Zanu PF that there was no bad blood between the Prophet and the apostolic sect.

“I passed my comment because we have worked with them (Mapostori) for long and I was asking him to stop attacking them. I wanted him to know that it was not for him to attack Mapostori who have been in existence, since 1902. His church only started a few years ago,” Gomwe said.

“I am sure that will not happen again.”

Chatambudza could not be reached for comment yesterday. There were reports last week that Zanu PF was mobilising demonstrations against Magaya, something Gomwe vehemently denied yesterday.

“Gomwe has been moving around mobilising party youths to besiege Magaya’s church services. He initially planned to disrupt Magaya’s offices last Sunday, but failed to raise the numbers and is busy rescheduling,” a Zanu PF youth told The Standard on condition of anonymity.

The plan, the youth said, was to provoke Magaya at his church so that his followers would retaliate and cause commotion and create the basis to seek the banning of PHD following the death of some congregates in Kwekwe last month.

Magaya said he was not aware of the plan, but doubted if it was true. “I have not heard of the plot. Why would they want to do that? I doubt if it is true,” Magaya said.

This came after Magaya, in his booklet titled Marine Spirits, Mweya Yemumvura: Teaching by Prophet W Magaya, claimed that 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.

“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,” Magaya wrote in the book which was being serialised by a state owned Sunday paper.

The serialisation has since been stopped.