Controversial Harare-based pastor, Walter Magaya, who is the founder and leader of Prophetic and Healing Deliverance Ministries (PHD), says the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his ability to deliver houses for his “partners”, as per agreement.
This comes after hundreds of his Zimbabwean followers resident in Cape Town, South Africa, besieged his offices demanding refunds for a botched stands deal.
Magaya, through Planet Africa, the investment arm under his church, invited his followers to pay varying deposits into a housing scheme.
The deposits ranged from US$1 000 to US$4 000, depending on the size of the stands, with the partners obliged to pay monthly subscriptions towards the scheme.
The scheme was meant to provide the first batch of stands early this year but nothing has been delivered.
Magaya’s spokesperson, Admire Mhango, said they were aware of the situation and will deliver as per promise once the COVID-19 pandemic eases. He said:
The lockdowns, not only in Zimbabwe but across the world, have affected all spheres of life. Once business returns to normal, we will continue with our housing project as we had planned.
Magaya has made headlines in the past with several female congregants claiming that he s_xually abused them.
However, most of them retracted their confessions a few days after making them, with critics suspecting that Magaya bought the women’s silence.