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Trust Freddy Herald Correspondent
The Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (Zaoga) Forward in Faith has issued a warning to members of the public to be wary of fraudsters that are soliciting for funds allegedly to meet funeral expenses of Archbishop Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti.
According to reports, some dishonest individuals have launched a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign purportedly on behalf of the Guti family to speed up the repatriation of Archbishop Guti’s body. Zaoga has already said it would fund the repatriation of the body and the funeral and had adequate funds to do so.
The church’s secretary general, Apostle Mishael Nyambo, has stressed that the church has enough funds to repatriate the body of the late leader.
“We also want to make the nation aware that ZAOGA is not embarking on a GoFundMe project for this programme. We have enough resources in the church. Some people are starting to misrepresent us. It’s not acceptable,” Apostle Nyambo said.
“Forward in Faith Zaoga is well able to take care of every expense that is associated with this programme, so we are not sourcing any funds from anyone.”
Further, Apostle Nyambo urged members of the public to be wary of fake Facebook and Twitter accounts of people masquerading as either members of the church executive or Guti family members.
He clarified that the church was not requesting any assistance, but added that anyone who is eager to assist is welcome to do so.
“Those who wish to give towards this cause are allowed, but we are not appealing for any financial assistance from any corporate or any individual apart from the church and that has to be clear because people will always try to find a way of making money using this programme and that is not authorised.”
The church is still working out modalities for the repatriation of the body of the late church leader from South Africa.
Archbishop Guti died in South Africa at the age of 100 on July 5, leaving behind an enormous history of evangelism spanning 63 years when he founded ZAOGA FIF.
In his condolence message, President Mnangagwa said the death of Prof Guti left him “deeply shattered and saddened”.
Over and above his religious calling, Archbishop Guti also played a role in several other nation building initiatives, including in the education and health sectors where he founded the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University and the Mbuya Dorcas Hospital in Harare.
Condolence messages from across the world continue to pour in following his death with many describing him as a typical modern day Christian giant who dedicated his life to preaching the word of God.
Online Reporter