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Makandiwa foretells disaster

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Zimbabwe could be plunged into darkness and thousands of people could die due to the collapse of a “great wall” if authorities do not move with speed to avert the looming calamity, United Family International Church (UFIC) founder Emmanuel Makandiwa has said

Zimbabwe could be plunged into darkness and thousands of people could die due to the collapse of a “great wall” if authorities do not move with speed to avert the looming calamity, United Family International Church (UFIC) founder Emmanuel Makandiwa has said.

REPORT BY VICTORIA MTOMBA STAFF REPORTER

Makandiwa, now widely regarded as one of the most influential personalities on the continent, told thousands of his congregants at the church’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Chitungwiza that Zimbabwe could be plunged into darkness following the catastrophe.

On the night he also prophesied that he saw tears in the snow and an old woman’s garment falling down and it turned out to be a big thing.

Makandiwa also predicted that three African countries will fight to gain independence and fight against “the dragon”.

He also said the country was headed for a gold rush that will see people in most parts of the country “picking” the precious mineral from the ground as God begins to offer divine solutions to challenges besetting Zimbabwe.

It was not clear what Makandiwa’s prophecy about the great wall was referring to, but some religious experts believe the prophecy might refer to some event that is beyond physical phenomena. Others, however, believe his utterances could have been referring to the poor state of the 128-metre-long Kariba Dam wall, built by an Italian company — Impresit — between 1955 and 1959.

The dam, which provides hydro-electric power to Zimbabwe and Zambia and controls 40% of Zambezi River’s run-off water, was recently reported to have developed cracks on its wall.

“I am seeing an old wall saying, ‘I am tired, I am getting tired and who will help me? I need to rest’ and the wall is coming down and I am seeing thousands perishing and the nation going into darkness. It’s now up to the authorities, if they are going to save money or they are going to save lives,” Makandiwa said during his sermon.

Should this prophecy be about the Kariba Dam and if it comes to pass, many people, mainly of the BaTonga tribe living along the Zambezi River which feeds into the dam, may be swept away by raging floods.

However, Energy and Power Development minister Elton Mangoma allayed fears of an imminent collapse of the dam wall, saying technicians from both Zambia and Zimbabwe were already rehabilitating the structure.

“I think he (Makandiwa) should have heard it from somewhere as it’s now common knowledge. When we opened the floodgates it (the water) ate into the rock underneath the foundation. It’s called plunge pool so there are consultants who are designing how they will stop the erosion. They have been on the ground for some time now. Both Zimbabwe and Zambia are ensuring that something is done,” Mangoma said.

Early last year, Makandiwa made similar predictions, but they went unheeded.

In March 2010, the dam’s rising levels led to the opening of floodgates and a total of 130 000 people were evacuated.

Traditionalists have in the past made similar predictions, attributing the envisaged catastrophe to their angered ancestral spirits — Nyaminyami — that they believe opposed the construction of the dam wall at the site.

During its construction, about five decades ago, scores of people, mainly the Tonga, were killed while hundreds others were displaced by flash floods.