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NewsDay

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Makandiwa bodyguards seize NewsDay camera

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Makandiwa’s bodyguards on Thursday, briefly confiscated NewsDay photojournalist Hillary Maradzika’s camera and deleted some pictures he had taken.

UNITED Family International Church (UFIC) leader Emmanuel Makandiwa’s security personnel on Thursday night briefly confiscated a NewsDay camera while Makandiwa’s visiting spiritual father Ghanaian Victor Kusi Boateng attacked local media for portraying his spiritual son in the negative.

Report by Wonai Masvingise

Makandiwa’s bodyguards briefly confiscated NewsDay photojournalist Hillary Maradzika’s camera and deleted some pictures he had taken of the official opening of the church’s international convention conference where Boateng was the guest preacher.

As if that was not enough, Makandiwa’s security personnel demanded accreditation documents from journalists covering the event and barred church members and visitors from recording or taking pictures of the proceedings.

During his sermon, Boateng blasted the media for reporting negatively about Makandiwa.

“A lot of people were saying a lot of negative things about Makandiwa, but if I look at their individual lives it is not that they are questionable, but that they are questions themselves. What gives them a right to criticise a man of such calibre?” Boateng asked.

He said it was unfair for newspapers to always accuse “men of God” of stealing people’s money and driving flashy cars while letting politicians going scot-free. “All the people that have been criticising us let them come and see real class this Sunday,” he bragged.

Makandiwa, Boateng and Spirit Embassy founder Uebert Mudzanire Angel have of late hogged the limelight over their spiritual mysteries.

Some of the recent occurrences include miraculous cash deposits into members’ bank accounts, a baby conceived and born within three days and instant weight loss.