HARARE – Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries founder Walter Magaya and his wife Tendai on Monday appeared in court facing 13 counts of fraud linked to a multi-million-dollar church housing project that allegedly never materialised.
Also charged are the couple’s companies — Planet Africa (Pvt) Ltd and Yadah Connect (Pvt) Ltd — both represented in court by Tatenda Chinguwa, who is the operations manager for the two entities.
The state alleges that between 2016 and 2018, Magaya and his co-accused defrauded PHD congregants and other members of the public by falsely claiming to have acquired land for residential stands and investment projects across the country, including Chishawasha, Norton, Westgate, Fern Valley (Mutare), Bulawayo, Kwekwe, Arcturus, Ruwa, Manyame and Nyatsime.
Magaya, the court heard, announced the projects during a church service broadcast live on Yadah TV, claiming that “God had instructed him” to help believers build homes.
He allegedly told congregants that those who purchased stands through Planet Africa would have their houses built by Yadah Connect, and that members could also invest in mining, farming and bee-keeping ventures promising “50 percent interest after six months.”
The court heard that brochures bearing the Bible verse Genesis 13:9 — “A vast land is out there and available to you” — were distributed during the campaign, depicting houses and plots said to have been acquired for the faithful.
Prosecutors say the representations were false and that no such land had been secured. Thirteen complainants listed in the police papers are said to have paid various sums of money, running into tens of thousands of US dollars, but never received any stands or refunds.
Appearing before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa, Magaya and his wife were represented by lawyers Admire Rubaya and Everson Chatambudza, who immediately challenged their continued detention.
Rubaya argued that the couple had been held for more than 48 hours following their arrest on November 1, rendering their appearance unlawful.
“Magaya was arrested at 5AM while praying at his prayer mountain by over 30 armed officers,” Rubaya told the court. “He was not allowed to contact his lawyers until after 11:30AM. His wife was also arrested without justification and over-detained. This is unconstitutional.”
The lawyer said the couple had been held incommunicado, with police initially denying them access to their legal representatives.
“We visited CID Headquarters where we were told they were being held, but we were informed they were not there,” Rubaya said. “They were not given access to their lawyers until after 11:30AM on November 1, when a police officer who is also a lawyer, Julia Chidumwa, intervened.”
Rubaya said the state had admitted to the over-detention, which he argued rendered the entire prosecution invalid.
“Even the state concedes they were over-detained. The constitution is clear — the law applies equally to all, including the state,” he argued. “You cannot put something on nothing; it will collapse. Once the state admits over-detention, this court must release the accused unconditionally.”
He said the only exception to the 48-hour rule would be if police had obtained a warrant for further detention, which they did not.
Prosecutor Clemence Chimbari admitted the over-detention but argued that the defence should seek redress through the Constitutional Court rather than the Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrate Gofa reserved judgement on the application for the couple’s release on account of over-detention. They were remanded in custody to Tuesday.
Meanwhile, shortly after the hearing the court was cleared for an in-camera hearing into unrelated rape charges that Magaya faces. – ZimLive
