Zimbabwean music superstar, Oliver Mtukudzi (aka Tuku), has scoffed at reports of poor health, warning that people should be wary of false prophets.

One of the rising self-proclaimed Pentecostal “prophets”, Ambassador Ishmael (Mangwanya), recently “prophesied” during an inter-dominational gathering at Reliance House in Harare  that Mtukudzi was in a health scare and instructed his congregation to pray for the artist.

However, in a wide-ranging interview at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton, Tuku said he was healthy and was hearing about the prophet and his prophecy for the first time. “Maybe the time for false prophets has come,” Mtukudzi said.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a religious frenzy that has seen people claiming to be prophets, predicting the fates of important people across Zimbabwe and the continent. Zimbabwean “prophets” are mainly self-proclaimed and are traditionally associated with the Apostolics.

Mtukudzi, a devoted member of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe said if the “prophet” was genuine, he should have approached him and not preach to the whole nation. “Who knows when I am sick?” he quipped. “Is it the prophet or me? Do I look like I am sick? Maybe he meant another Mtukudzi.”

But a spokesperson for Ambassador Ishmael, Mavhima Mupapuri, said Mtukudzi’s feelings could not determine whether the prophecy was false or not. Mupapuri added that, although prophecy was not a word of knowledge, it was necessary to foretell the future. “The role of prophecy is for people to get help from God. If he [Mtukudzi] chooses to listen he will be helped.”

According to The Standard, when asked what his word meant, Ambassador Ishmael said there was nothing more he could say. “With prophecy we have to be very careful. It is incorrect for me to give more information publicly before I talk to the intended destination of the prophecy. I will visit Tuku in the near future and talk to him.”

Over the past few years, Tuku has been rumoured to be ill several times. In other instances, some have even suggested that the superstar had died and this has made it common for speculation to be rife.

 

See related articles: 

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Mugabe: beware of false prophets