Walter Magaya in fresh housing stands storm

Pamenus Tuso

Bulawayo– Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya has once again been accused of duping his congregants in a botched residential stands scheme, adding to his long history of similar accusations.

The scheme, launched in 2016, promised to provide 1,000 residential stands at Danglasedale farm on the outskirts of Bulawayo.

Magaya, through his company Planet Africa, sold the plots for US$4,000 each on the promise that he would construct houses for the beneficiaries, comprising his church members.

The beneficiaries would make monthly mortgage instalments based on the property’s value.

Documents obtained by this publication show that the congregants made payments interchangeably to Planet Africa and the PHD Ministries offices, raising questions about the accountability of the project.

However, the construction of houses did not proceed as promised.

One beneficiary, Willie Chidhlori, explained that he and multiple other home seekers were forced to sell family assets to raise money for the residential stands.

“A lot of people including myself sold assets in order to raise the required amount. Some even sold their stands in high density suburbs such as Cowdray Park in order to buy the Danglasedale stands which were bigger and had better value,” Chidhlori told NewsHub.

Progress stalled in 2017 after most of the beneficiaries had paid in full, PhD loyals told this publication in separate interviews.

“The reason which we were given for the abandonment of the project was that the political environment was not conducive for such a project to continue following Operation Restore Legacy.

“As suggested, we waited until 2018 after the elections and nothing happened,” said Chidhlori.

Operation Restore Legacy was the codename for the military-assisted removal of the late Robert Mugabe from power in November 2017 after ruling for an unbroken 37 years since independence in 1980.

Mugabe was replaced by his long-time aide, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who roped in the head of the military that staged the coup, Constantino Chiwenga, as a co-vice president.

As the years passed, Magaya’s followers were given further excuses, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which the church claimed had worsened its financial situation.

“The advent of COVID 19 stalled everything. When we tried to follow up on the issue after the pandemic, we were told that the church had no money because people were unable to pay tithes during COVID. We were told that the money we paid was tied to the project,” added Chidhlori.

Other victims who preferred anonymity said they made numerous visits to the PHD Ministries offices in both Bulawayo and Harare to no avail.

“When I first went to the church‘s Bulawayo office, I was referred to Harare. In Harare I was referred back to the Bulawayo office. Since then I have been shuttling between Harare and Bulawayo trying to recover my money” said one of the victims.

He added that some members have already left the church in frustration, while others have since passed on without receiving their stands.

“All we want from Magaya is our money. We know he has the capacity to pay us back,” he said.

Magaya’s spokesperson, Admire Mango, requested NewsHub to send its questions via text.

“The network is not clear. Please text your message,” Mango said.

However, Mango did not respond to the WhatsApp messages sent tohim and repeated attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful.

This is not the first time Magaya has been accused of land-related fraud.

In mid-2020, hundreds of his congregants besieged the PHD Ministries office in Cape Town demanding their money back after Magaya failed to deliver on stands that he had promised them when they deposited amounts ranging from US$1,000 to US$4,000.

Magaya promised to repay the disgruntled followers but it is not clear if he followed through on the promise.

A year before, he was implicated in a US$900,000 land scam involving the illegal sale of Kalulu Farm in Goromonzi.

The farm was sold to Magaya despite not having been distributed as part of the estate of a deceased person.

In 2021, High Court Judge Jacob Mafusire ordered the sale of 3,232.3 hectares of land owned by Planet Africa to settle a debt of over US$420,000 owed to Getbucks Microfinance Bank Limited.

Magaya has also faced legal challenges regarding his role in a disputed partnership with Chitungwiza Town Council to fund the local authority’s controversial master plan.

The residents of Chitungwiza sought an interdict from the High Court to block the deal.

In addition to these land scandals, the clergyman has faced accusations of sexually abusing female congregants, though no formal charges have been filed.

Meanwhile, Magaya is contesting his disqualification from running for the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) presidency after failing to produce his O-Level certificate as required.

Last Friday, High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi reserved judgment in a case where Magaya, also the founder of Yadah FC, is contesting his disqualification from running for the ZIFA presidency.