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ITa��S month-end in Zimbabwea��s capital city Harare and one Pentecostal church led by a prophet of Ghanaian descent is packed to the brim.
Flashy cars and designer suits along with counterfeit name brands electrify a warehouse turned into a church.
Ita��s the a�?Big Sundaya�? and the prophet will talk mostly about a�?planting the seeda�? and a�?giving to the Lorda�?. Although the country is experiencing acute cash shortages, at least one refuse bin will leave the venue full of a mixture of bond notes and hard currency.
a�?I dona��t know how much money could be in that bin alone but ita��s more than US$10 000. There are people who will remain behind for prayers and each prayer is US$5,a�? said an usher at the venue who thought this reporter was desperate for a miracle.
Harare has an estimated population of six million people. As such, there is enough for everyone in the business of prophecy. At Machipisa Shopping Centre in Highfield, about a kilometre from what was President Robert Mugabea��s house during the colonial era, there is one Prophet Sham Hungwe.
Hungwe, one of the new kids on the block, operating from a tent and driving a Land Rover Discovery 3 (a modest car if compared to other prophets driving Bentleys) a�� has his big Sunday too.
a�?Our church is growing. Even if we get more people we wona��t leave the ghetto because Goda��s people are here,a�? says a member of the church.
Just like in a snake pit, everyone fights for territory, thata��s why Hungwe will stay put at Machipisa because there are some who have taken the city centre, suburbs and townships.
Hea��s from the a�?Johnny come latea�? crew and the first time he made national news headlines was last year with a bold declaration that he could pray for pens to help students pass exams.
But there are some more cheeky ones too, recently one ProphetA� Paul Sanyangore, a�?calleda�? God on his cellphone. He even enlisted one of Zimbabwea��s A list celebrities Tichafa a�?Tich Mataza�? Matambanadzo to also speak to God on the phone.
The only miracle to it is that his congregation believed it!
a�?That was heaven online, direct talk to God and the results were rather shocking. Some went to the extent of saying I text God on WhatsApp, while some said I was having selfies with Him,a�? he said confirming that he had a direct line to God which is not prayer but a cellphone.
There is also Prophet Talent Madungwe whose claim is meeting God three times in his life and also being Goda��s number four after the trinity (Father, Son and the Holly Spirit).
In Zimbabwe, early prosperity preachers really minted it. Therea��s Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa and Prophet Uebert Angel whose partnership and claims of a�?miracle moneya�? got the Governmenta��s attention and even sat down with the Reserve BankA� Governor to explain their issue. The third and probably most prominent to date, Prophet Walter Magaya currently has a football team in Zimbabwea��s premier league coached on a�?spirituala�? ground.
While there are others such as Penuel Mguni in South Africa who drew scorn when he made his flock eat live snakes and also grass, Zambia and Botswana will have no such nonsense.
In a space of a month Zambia has deported two influential gospel entrepreneurs. The countrya��s National Guidance and Religious Affairs Minister Godfridah Sumaili announced stringent requirements that have so far blocked Zimbabwea��s Uebert Angel and his spiritual son from Malawi Shepherd Bushiri gaining access into Zambia.
They were deported under theA� Immigration and Deportation Act, 2010. Bushiri who had also been denied entry into Bostwana said officials from both countries were a�?anti-Christ.a�?
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