Reverend Obadiah Msindo of  Destiny for Africa has said that some churches in the country are teaming up with the media to smear the name of mercurial Reverend Emmanuel Makandiwa, who has pulled off multitudes from their churches.

In an interview for RelZim.org, Msindo said that Makandiwa is a victim of petty jealousy from his peers, who feel affronted by the way he has been plucking off feathers from their churches.
Churches in Zimbabwe strive for multitudes that make contributions.

“Makandiwa is a true prophet. Some churches that were preaching about healing and deliverance failed to deliver the people and, consequently, people went to join Makandiwa because he is able to fulfill their expectations. This has actually left some churches unhappy. Leaders of churches that have suffered from losses of followers have thus been using money in order to slur the name of  Makandiwa through the media and other means,” believes Msindo.

Popular religious leader Makandiwa, who at one time filled the 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium in Harare, has in recent times been under attack. Some accuse him of stealing a cell-phone project, while others say he is not a true prophet.

In view of this, Msindo said that people can easily see whether a person is a prophet through his works and whether he preaches the Bible and talks about the poor in his sermons. “People should not only think that prophets come from Nigeria or America but that here we are also blessed. Makandiwa is one such gift and people should embrace him as their own.”

Rev. Msindo said that, while it is true that there are false prophets, Zimbabweans should accept that God is able to raise prophets even from Zimbabwe. “We should not just attack our prophets—we should accept that we have some who have been anointed by God,” he said. He as well added that, while history has the Roman Catholic as the first church, people in the country should also accept the emergence of new churches such as Makandiwa’s United Families International (UFI).

Presently Makandiwa is outside Zimbabwe, with his family members and aides saying that he is on holiday in the UK. Earlier RelZim.org reported that Makandiwa had failed to attend the Catch the Fire conference, where he was one of the invited preachers.