Online Reporter
Remember Deketeke
A South African evangelist, Pastor Reini Coetzee, arrived in Harare yesterday as part of an extraordinary faith-driven expedition that has seen him walking from Cape Town, with plans to reach Ethiopia and eventually Jerusalem.
Pastor Coetzee, who began his journey last year, plans to cover an estimated 10,000 kilometres, moving through several African countries before eventually heading toward the Middle East.
His trip, he says, is guided by a deep conviction to share hope, peace, and the love of Christ with the people he meets along the way.
Since his journey last year from Cape town, Pastor Coetzee has covered at least 2 500km to the moment he landed in Harare yesterday enroute to Nyamapanda.
The scene was anything but ordinary.
Motorists slowed down, pedestrians gathered and curious onlookers pulled out their phones as Pastor Coetzee trudged forward, sweat-soaked but unrelenting.
Children ran alongside him, cheering and laughing, some jokingly shouting, “We have seen Jesus!” Others posed for selfies, carefully framing the towering wooden cross behind them, while a few adults quietly slipped money into his hands before melting back into the crowd.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail yesterday afternoon soon after he arrived in Harare, Pastor Coetzee said his journey began on March 16, 2025, when he left Cape Town on foot.
“It’s almost 10 months now, actually more than 10 months, on the road,” he said.
“I started in South Africa, and now I am here in Zimbabwe. Wow, you guys are amazing. Beautiful hearts.”
He first arrived in Beitbridge, where he was welcomed by Pastor Cleverton Kunjuta of Ambassador Christian Fellowship who has been escorting him throughout his journey in Zimbabwe.
Pastor Coetzee’s next destination is Nyamapanda where he expects another team from Mozambique to take over in escorting him.
In Harare, his entourage included a small branded car that moved slowly beside him as he walked.
Asked about where he sleeps, he said sometimes he finds accommodation in lodges, hotels or any well-wishers who can offer him a place.
The wooden cross always has a wheel which makes it easier for him to move around with it.
Pastor Coetzee is no stranger to long, punishing journeys.
In 2020, he walked from Cape Town to Musina, and to Namibia. This time, however, his mission stretches further, across at least 10 African countries.
From Zimbabwe, he plans to move on to Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia, from where he intends to proceed to Jerusalem.
Despite the physical strain, he insists the journey is not about endurance or attention.
“It is not about every bottle of water, every parcel of food or the accommodation, though I want to say thank you to Zimbabwe for all of that,” he said.
“It is about preaching the Gospel of Jesus through the cross.”
Carrying a cross, Pastor Coetzee said, is both symbolic and practical.
“I am using the cross as a symbol of hope, peace and love,” he said.
“It is also a reminder of what Jesus has done for us. May we never forget the offer He brought on the cross.”
Along Zimbabwe’s highways and rural roads, he said he has witnessed moments that convinced him the journey matters.
“I have seen buses stop. People get off buses just to come for prayer. I have seen old people coming from villages, asking for prayer at the cross. I have seen miracles happening here.”
He said during his journey within the country’s borders, he has prayed intensely for Zimbabwe, focusing on unity, peace and national renewal.
“I am praying for love. Can a nation be born in one day? Yes, it can. And we stand on that, that Godly change will come in Zimbabwe.”
As he walks, Pastor Coetzee said he also prays for the economy, weather patterns and ordinary citizens he meets along the way.
He believes Africa is entering a new season.
“We no longer call Africa the dark continent,” he said.
“There is a light coming. We have to trust Him.”
And with the cross once again resting on his shoulder, the road, long, unforgiving and uncertain, stretches northward.
