Night of Turnaround 6 in retrospect
A QUEUE meanders towards the main entrance at the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) headquarters in Waterfalls, Harare.
There is hardly any parking space and we drop off at the busy Zindoga Shopping Centre. Zindoga gained its popularity from patrons that frequent braai spots, enjoy drinks and night life and other vices. Yet, when one turns around, they come faceto-face with PHD headquarters, a complete opposite of what goes on at Zindoga.
The day is Friday October 3, 2017 and the time is 7pm. Around this time, Zindoga usually roars and bursts with patrons wanting to shake off the week’s troubles.
Yet today, thousands of people making their way to PHD headquarters, our news crew included have “swallowed” the seemingly busy Zindoga and literally taken over the place.
Hundreds of thousands others have already made their way into the PHD premises and settled inside throughout the day.
In the queue, people from all walks of life hold blankets, trench coats, jerseys and any clothing item to keep them warm through the long night in the open. Others are being dropped off by cars, some by buses and commuter omnibuses, which are cashing in on the high demand for public transport.
Fruit and food vendors are also making quick sales and stocks run out fast.
The place is a hive of activity. Security details maintain order and escort those who want to skip the queue to the back.
To minimise accidents, security also ensures the main road is clear of human traffic so that no one is hit by passing vehicles, which are plenty in this part of Harare. Today’s event worsens the situation. When we finally make it inside, we see several ushers waiting to direct people to the correct zones and seats within the main arena.
Some hold papers written: diplomats, sports, ministers, lawyers, etc and lead each group to the right place. Other delegates are accessing the venue through other set points around the church premises.
Upon entering the main arena, a sea of people welcomes us. The people are everywhere and anywhere there is a chair to sit on. We find out chairs way over 280 000 had been prepared.
As the clock ticks, the sea of people continues to swell, “bursting” and “overspilling” to as far as Glen Norah.
In the crowd 69-year-old Mbuya Jessica Maredza of Mutare has her own story. She does not attend PHD but says the reason she has braved the night to attend the event is to be healed of the excruciating pain in her left leg.
She arrived at 1 pm in the company of her two grand-daughters and a nephew.
She says for months, she has felt things move up and down her swollen leg. She had tried everything, visited different orthopaedics, yet nothing has changed. The leg and foot still aches, is swollen and she walks with a limp. She believes there’s more to it as problems started when her US-based son Martin bought her a modest car. Each Sunday, a driver paid by Martin drives her to church.
Today, she hopes when Prophet Magaya prays, even if he does not touch her head, her leg will be healed. She’s certain as her sister had her migraine headache, which had troubled her for years healed last year at Night of Turnaround 5.
“This is my last resort. I think my problem is more spiritual than medical. I want to go back home a different person. Whatever is making the leg swell will go today,” she says.
As music is being played, difent-sized ferent-sized flags also softly “dance” following the rhythm of the wind’s direction. It’s a big event, one that promotes religious tourism and countries represented included Angola, Australia, Botswana, Namibia, SA, Swaziland, US, UK, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe just to name a few.
Hundreds of people from those countries are in attendance.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Tourism, Hospitality Industry and Environment endorsed the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministry Night of Turnaround 6 a significant contributor to the growth and success of the tourism sector and the economy at large through religious tourism.
Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Minister Edgar Mbwembwe pledged his support and championed the initiative by PHD Ministry of packaging religious tourism with a business flavour.
Also in the crowd are people with various physical disabilities who hope their situation would have improved come Saturday morning. Two have eczema they claim failed to respond to modern treatment. Others seek prosperity, breakthroughs, want their marriages to flourish. Every one of the more than 280 000 people in the crowd has their unique reason of being there. As with other Nights of Turn Around held in the past, we learn that Prophet Magaya will pray for a turnaround in the lives of people and countries, deliver people from evil spirits and heal the sick. The event is not only about healing and miracles, we learn. He will also speak to motivate women like Indiana Chirara of Harare, a young mother of three whose low self-esteem has kept her from many opportunities. Chirara wants the word to transform her way of thinking. Determined to get a good place to sit, Chirara arrives at the venue by 3pm. Being at the Night of Turnaround 6, she says, was a great privilege which turned around her life. “I used to look down upon myself but now that is history. I now see things and handle myself in a different way for greater is He who is in me than the one who is in the world,” said Chirara. There is singing and dancing in the crowd and on the huge stage. The music line-up caters for everyone as it ranges from gospel to sungura and dancehall. Mathias Mhere sings and nothing could have killed the vibe.
Dancehall musician Killer T of the “Takangodaro” fame goes on stage, capturing the attention of the younger generation in the crowd. Zimpraise sings “Musandikanganwe” among many other songs and most people take to the dance floor, country flags high.
When Andy Muridzo’s turn comes, he does not disappoint. The entertainment is good. Two men guarding a neighbouring building cannot resist the “temptation”. They turnaround and peep through a security wall for most of the night.
Time flies and those wishing to capture these moments take countless selfies, just to freeze the moments.
Then the PHD choir entertains the masses ushering the arrival of Prophet Magaya a little after 10pm. It’s been a long wait for many, especially those who arrived in the morning yet they appear more enthusiastic. In fact, their night begins the moment their leader arrives. People cannot hide their excitement as they all go down on their knees to welcome the prophet who is clad in a gold and black shirt and black trousers. He too kneels and prays.
One of his first lines to the hundreds of thousands of people “. . . we expect a turnaround, Father we come to you . . .” sets the tone of the night.
In the crowd, strangers become friends as they are told to hold hands, greet each other and then call out the neighbours name. I hold Elizabeth’s hand and this is just one of the many memorable moments of the night many are to follow. As the night progresses, Prophet Magaya asks for God’s intervention to rid the continent of HIV and Aids, Ebola and poverty.
He also prays and declares the continent will prosper urging people to think of others too.
Prophet Magaya prays and declares all demons will go.
Some people scream at the top of their lungs and more join them. Several people “paralysed” by manifesting spirits are helped to the front where they are prayed for and delivered.
Young women and men from PHD hold down people whose manifestations are too aggressive while they declare they won’t leave. Yet, when prophet Magaya lays his hands on such, the people calm and we hear celebratory cheers that the demons have “exited” the bodies of their victims.
Those in crutches walk toward the prophet and after being prayed for lift and throw them away as a sign of victory. They return to their seats walking.
A heap of crutches quickly forms — we lose count. This session is a melting pot of every miracle one could imagine.
On the other side of a bridge on the Mukuvisi River where a section of the huge crowd is seated, a cacophony of screaming people begging for deliverance can be heard.
Prophet Magaya and his team decide it’s time to cross over to the other side and also pray for these “tormented” souls.
As he walks, a man breaks from the sea of people, rushes and throws himself in his way all in the hope of having him lay his hands on his head. He is successful in his attempt and goes back to his seat, a happy man.
When Prophet Magaya reaches the other side of the bridge, the screams become louder.
More people are prayed for, demons cast out and people freed. Screams of relief are then heard. Everything happens fast, blinking and dozing will certainly result in missing out on the action. He also prays for more people ensuring he captures every section of the crowd. Then he prays for everyone in the crowd, asking them to touch where they need healing. People comply and there is more prayer and celebratory songs by the PHD choir on standby on the stage. Those who had been previously healed give testimonies and their pictures and videos of their before and after are beamed on the many huge television screens surrounding the area.
A woman testifies she almost had her leg amputated (and still has it today) because of the healing she received from the prophet. There are deafening cheers from the crowd.
As morning falls, at 4 am , I decide I have seen enough and head home. My first ever Night of Turnaround had ended here. I was not expecting a miracle but wanted to see others experience theirs.
From the energy in the crowd, it seemed as if they, too, had experienced their Night of Turnaround 6 in their in special way.