Prophet Walter Magaya fails to pay park rangers at his Shamva mine

Prophetic, Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PHD) leader, Prophet Walter Magaya is reportedly embroiled in a protracted salary dispute with park rangers at his old Shamva gold mine situated in Umfurudzi Game Park, Nehanda Radio has established.

Through his company Wistmeer, sometime in 2021, Magaya hired park rangers to guard his excavator when he was mining in Umfurudzi Game Park.

After completing his work there, the cleric reportedly vanished without paying the security guards a cent.

Sources close to Nehanda Radio indicated that the prophet, for the past two years, kept on ignoring the rangers when they contacted him for compensation.

According to the official documents seen by Nehanda Radio, Magaya’s company was supposed to pay security services amounting to US$3 700 in 2021 but it did not.

A letter dated 31 October 2022 by the parks to Wistmer Investments shows that communication existed between the rangers and the company with the former demanding their compensation.

But Magaya has reportedly been evasive.

“The above subject matter refers. As per our telephone conversation on 29th and 30th October 2022 concerning the payment of outstanding arrears amounting to US$3 761.85 for services rendered by Umfurudzi Park in February 2021, please here is the written confirmation of the amount due.

“I hope the amount will be honored in due course as per your commitment,” read the letter by Mhiripiri S, a Senior Area Manager at Umfurudzi Park.

This is not the first time Magaya is accused of neglecting workers.

In August last year, disgruntled workers from the same mine descended on Yadah Hotel demanding an audience with the popular prophet who owed them three months’ pay.

The situation at the lucrative gold mine had prompted employees to stage industrial action over unpaid and low salaries. But the clergyman allegedly turned a blind eye on his employees’ dire welfare.

He actually fired those that kept on protesting, breaching the Labour Act that states that ‘all employees, workers committees and trade unions shall have the right to resort to collective job action for the redress of lawful grievances’.

In 2018, Magaya divided opinion among labour experts by paying those who volunteer their services to the church in the form of “blessings”.

His church was founded in 2012. It does not employ permanent staff nor contract workers. Volunteers are given blessings by the man of cloth as a thank you.