HARARE-(MaraviPost)-Prominent Zimbabwean church leader Apostle Rodney Chipoyera has declared that publicly criticizing or correcting President Emmerson Mnangagwa is demonic, describing the 83-year-old leader as the “National Father of Zimbabwe.”
Chipoyera made the remarks while addressing congregants at his church in central Harare this week, in a sermon that has since circulated widely on social media.
“Speaking against or publicly correcting President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (ED), whom God has placed as the National Father of Zimbabwe, is demonic,” Chipoyera told his followers, urging Christians to pray for the President rather than challenge him.
The remarks come at a time of heightened political tension in Zimbabwe over the recently enacted law Constitutional Amendment Act number 3 (CAA3) that extends Mnangagwa’s constitutionally mandated two terms beyond 2028 to 2030, and potentially to 2032.
The campaign, known as the “2030 Agenda” or “ED will still be in office in 2030,” that gave birth to CAA3 was championed by a faction within the ruling ZANU-PF but faces stiff resistance from war veterans, the opposition, and civil society who argue it violates the Constitution.
The matter has since been brought to the Constitutional Court, by those opposed to it, including opposition parties and a section of the war veterans.
Chipoyera, who has become increasingly vocal in support of Mnangagwa’s government, framed the presidency as a spiritual fatherhood that should not be questioned.
Who is Rodney Chipoyera?
Apostle Rodney Chipoyera is the founder and leader of Kingdom Prosperity Ministries (KPM), a charismatic Pentecostal church based at 99 Park Lane in central Harare, opposite Harare Gardens.
Although not as internationally known as Zimbabwean mega-church leaders like Emmanuel Makandiwa of UFIC or Walter Magaya of PHD Ministries, Chipoyera is a well-established figure in Harare’s prosperity gospel circuit with a significant following both locally and in the diaspora, including in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia.
He leads the ministry alongside his wife, Apostle Farai Chipoyera. The couple have been in full-time ministry for over two decades.
Before entering ministry, Chipoyera was a businessman who ran a company that at its peak employed more than 250 people, according to his official profile. He attended Prince Edward School in Harare. He says he left business after receiving a divine calling.
His church, KPM, is known for deliverance services, prophetic healing, and teachings focused on financial breakthrough, spiritual warfare against what he terms “strongmen and marine spirits,” and success in business and personal life. His core message is “raising champions for the kingdom.”
Chipoyera is considered a spiritual son of the late Bishop Bartholomew Manjoro of Faith World Ministries, one of Zimbabwe’s Pentecostal pioneers.
In recent years, he has used his platform to openly support ZANU-PF and President Mnangagwa, joining a growing list of Pentecostal leaders who have aligned themselves with the state. Critics accuse such church leaders of providing spiritual cover for government policies in exchange for political protection and access.
His latest comments echo similar statements by other pro-government clerics who have described Mnangagwa as divinely appointed and any opposition to him as an attack on God.
The Presidency and ZANU-PF have not officially commented on Chipoyera’s remarks.
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