Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) ministries founder, Walter Magaya on Saturday claimed he was being labelled a Satanist by other Pentecostal church leaders who are envious of the growth of his church.
by XOLISANI NCUBE IN Pretoria Magaya, who is in South Africa for his second international crusade this year, told journalists that although there is no “bad blood” between him and United Families International Church (UFIC) leader, Emmanuel Makandiwa, most preachers who started their ministries earlier than him were not happy about his success.
“Prophet Makandiwa is older than me, he started his ministry earlier than me, and he is probably more mature than me,” he said.
“So I have nothing personal against him. He has not spoken ill of me and I have not done so as well.
“Yes, there is a silent war, especially with those that started earlier; they feel challenged at the rate at which we are growing.”
Magaya said he started PHD in 2012 and the ministry was now big with massive followers. He said some PHD members had deserted other charismatic preachers.
“Obviously, there are those who feel challenged because people who used to go to their churches are now coming to us,” he said.
“They are asking themselves what it is that we are doing which they are not doing right.
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“I have recordings of some pastors who accuse me of being a Satanist, but I have just kept that to myself.”
The preacher — who commands one of the largest followings in the country — said he hardly collaborated with other church leaders either for joint crusades or inviting them to his ministry as most of them hated him.
“I think they hate me, I think they feel like I have taken their membership, hence I have no close friend like a prophet or so,” he said.
Magaya is among a crop of new prophets and runs a ministry that deals with healing, deliverance and prophecy, just like Makandiwa and other pentecostal churches.
Unlike Makandiwa who usually puts on suits and spends more time preaching, Magaya admitted that he could not be compared to the UFIC leader. He, however, said his style suited those who follow him.
“As they say, one’s man meat is another man’s poison. I have seen those who go to prophet Makandiwa’s church dressed like him and I have also seen those who follow me doing the same,” Magaya said.
Since his entrance into the prosperity gospel arena, Magaya has attracted a lot of criticism over his conduct and style of doing things.
Some allege he uses black magic to perform miracles, while others claim he stage-manages some of the alleged healings that take place at his church.
Just like Makandiwa and other pentecostal groups, Magaya focuses on performing miracles, healing the sick and casting out demons and this has attracted a lot of criticism among the traditional churches, who allege that the new crop of preachers use black magic obtained from Nigeria to perform miracles.
However, the PHD leader said he believed in “the living God” for his miracles and no magician would do what he has achieved within three years.
“There is no way I would be where I am today if I was using magic,” he said.
“I will not stoop so low as to respond to people who don’t understand where we are and what we believe in.
“There shall come a time when they shall understand what we stand for and believe in our way of doing things, but I can tell you I have achieved all this through Jesus Christ,” Magaya said.
“At one time, I read online that someone was alleging that I stage-manage prophecies and tell people to say they have been healed and that some of the wheelchairs that we display when someone is healed are new.
“I prayed that the Lord give me people with wounds so that I could heal them because I can’t stage-manage healing of a wound. If you have relatives who are sick, bring them.”
Magaya has been linked to popular Nigerian preacher, TB Joshua and the youthful prophet has visited that country several times.
“He is my spiritual god father and I get advice from him time and again,” he said.
“Before I came here, I spoke to him because he has seen it all; he runs one of the largest churches in the world and has been in the ministry for 32 years and I have to learn from him.”
Asked whether PHD was a church or not, Magaya said “it is above a church, actually it delivers churches”.
“To me, a church is founded on administrative grounds, but a ministry is focused on a certain line of work and ours is to deliver, heal and prophesy. We deliver churches and bishops,” he said.
Magaya, who is a father of two and has many “adopted” children, said his ministry does not depend on offerings and tithes made during the church services, but is bankrolled by hundreds of people who would have understood his vision, or who would have been healed and want to support the work of the ministry.
