POPULAR prophet, Walter Magaya, has revealed he often receives tissues and fake notes as offerings from thousands of desperate parishioners who throng his Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PHD) weekly.
Speaking during a live Star FM radio discussion last week, Magaya said he was dismayed that most people still believe their offerings were being used to finance lavish lifestyles of modern-day prophets.
He said those making the allegations failed to accept the huge costs involved in running popular churches like his.
“We use envelopes for offering in our church but half the of them are returned empty and sometimes you find tissues paper, fake notes, bearer notes or even old notes," he said.
"If you find money - at most you find maybe a dollar and people forget that the worshipping venue, the chairs they are sitting on, the cameras filming the event and the sound system are all hired," lamented Magaya
The church leader, who commands a congregation of over 50,000, also saluted fellow prophets, Emmanuel Makandiwa of the popular United Family International Church (UFIC) and flamboyant Spirit Embassy founder Uebert Angel for clearing the way for him as a budding prophet.
The church leader, who commands a congregation of over 50,000, also saluted fellow prophets, Emmanuel Makandiwa of the popular United Family International Church (UFIC) and flamboyant Spirit Embassy founder Uebert Angel for clearing the way for him as a budding prophet.
"I respect those men of God a lot," he said, "They had to overcome serious social prejudice to get us as prophets widely accepted.
"For you to accept me as a prophet and receive testimonies we are doing today you had to accept them first but they had to break barriers of social resistance.
"So we thank God for that. I respect them am l am always even watching their steps for guidance."
Prophet Magaya is a successful commercial farmer who also enjoys playing snooker during his spare time at home.
"So we thank God for that. I respect them am l am always even watching their steps for guidance."
Prophet Magaya is a successful commercial farmer who also enjoys playing snooker during his spare time at home.
He said he has failed to pay courtesy calls on Angel and Makandiwa as often as he might have liked because he gets overwhelmed by throngs of desperate people, even from abroad, seeking his healing
powers.
powers.
The Prophet said he lives a modest life and owns a single Nissan Morano car which he enjoys driving himself but said - tongue in cheek - that he would still enjoy moving in a motorcade if life permits.
Magaya was however up in arms with some Zimbabweans and the media who are quick to dismiss and cast aspersions on local prophets but reserved all the admiration for church leaders from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.
"We got a problem, it’s actually a national crisis in Zimbabwe because people seem to easily accept foreign prophets ahead of their own," he said.
"If you check, for the many years we have been ministering nobody is really finding the good things that is happening to PHD and promote it.
"But if were to make a single mistake, you will find every paper writing about it."
Prophet Magaya said he was, in his own right, a spiritual father to over 100 local and international pastors and prophets but that has never been publicised with the same gusto that is displayed when he falters.
Magaya also spoke on Harare based poll dancer Bev Sibanda saying she is one of 20 young women who have come to his church and have been helped to abandon lives scorned by society.
The popular prophet hit the headlines two weeks ago when he was said to have convinced the raunchy dancer to give up the entertainment industry and start a clothing business.
Bev has since set up her first shop along Harare's Union Avenue but is yet to return the funds paid towards contracts signed with promoters, some which are said to be running into 2018.
