Prophet Obey Tichafa Mukanhairi has withdrawn from a striking claim that Zimbabwe’s National Sports Stadium and Warren Hills Cemetery sit above gold deposits, after police warned that unverified social media posts could prompt dangerous reactions.
The prophet, who leads Mellontik Orasi Ministries International and is also known as Orasi Mellontik, had said that gold fields lay 15 metres beneath the stadium and described the cemetery as a goldfield. He challenged geologists to prove him wrong in a post seen by his 1.3 million Facebook followers.
The abrupt shift came after his claim drew criticism and a warning from national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi. Mukanhairi then said his words had been misquoted and recast the message as a parable about Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth, rather than a claim about deposits beneath a named site.
His first response read: “Our submission was Zimbabwe is a mineral rich country and not poor as the world thinks and sits on top of undiscovered minerals not necessarily saying anything is beneath National Sports.
“We wish to correct the narrative and set the record straight apologies to those who were disturbed.”
He later issued a longer statement under the heading “from the office of Prophet Obey Tichafa Mukanhairi”. It said parts of his sermon had been misquoted and taken out of context, causing concern among members of the public.
The statement set out what the ministry said the message was intended to mean:
“The parable was meant to encourage people. Its point was that Zimbabwe is a mineral-rich nation. It is not a poor country, as much of the world thinks.”Our land holds great natural wealth, much of it still undiscovered, and that wealth gives us reason for hope, pride, and faith in what our nation can become.”
The clarification directly rejected the interpretation that Mukanhairi had identified the stadium or another specific public site as a place containing minerals.
“The Prophet did not say, and did not mean to suggest, that there are minerals or anything else beneath the National Sports Stadium, or under any other specific national site. Any reading that points to a particular place takes the parable too literally and goes beyond what was intended.”
The statement also apologised to people disturbed by the episode and promised more care in future communications.
“We sincerely apologise to everyone who was disturbed, confused, or offended by how the message was reported and understood. We did not mean to cause alarm, spread misinformation, or create any concern about national property or institutions. We regret that the message was not delivered more clearly.”
It added: “As a ministry, we remain committed to messages that bring hope, unity, and progress to Zimbabwe and its people. We will take greater care in future to make sure our teachings are communicated clearly and responsibly. We ask members of the public and the media to rely on this statement as the accurate account of the Prophet’s message.”
The clarification left a central contradiction between the original social media post and the account issued afterwards. Mukanhairi’s original words named the stadium, gave a precise depth of 15 metres and called on geologists to challenge the claim. His later statement said that any reading connecting the parable to the stadium went beyond its intended meaning.
The original post had also named Warren Hills Cemetery, but the clarification referred to the National Sports Stadium and “any other specific national site”. The statement did not explain why those two locations had featured in the post, or why the stadium had been described as sitting above goldfields at a particular depth if the message was intended as a general comment on the country’s mineral potential.
Police responded to the initial claim with a warning against posting unverified information online. Nyathi said such posts could move beyond social media and provoke conduct that put people at risk.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police would like to warn people posting unverified information on social media,” said Comm Nyathi.”Such posts may incite people into reacting to the claims thereby endangering people’s lives.”Let it be known that it is a criminal offence to post unverified information and anyone found doing that will be arrested.”
The police statement was a general warning about unverified online claims. It underscored the authorities’ concern that a message identifying a public site as a potential source of gold could lead people to act on it.
The stadium has been the focus of heightened safety attention in recent weeks for a separate reason. On September 28, a supporter was killed during a stampede at Gate 2 as Zimbabwe hosted the Democratic Republic of Congo. A police vehicle ran over the supporter during the incident. The Confederation of African Football subsequently ordered international matches at the venue to be played behind closed doors while security arrangements were reviewed.
The Zimbabwe Football Association later said CAF had granted conditional permission for up to 10,000 spectators at two fixtures: Zimbabwe’s women’s Olympic qualifier against Malawi on October 13 and a Champions League match between Scottland FC and Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, provisionally scheduled for October 17. The conditions included stronger crowd management, access control, security deployment, medical services and emergency response. A CAF safety and security officer was to monitor whether the measures were in place.
That backdrop gives added weight to police concern about posts directing public attention towards specific locations. The initial message did not describe an attempt to enter or dig at the stadium or cemetery, but it publicly labelled both sites as goldfields and invited geologists to prove the claim wrong.
The claims also touched a country where gold mining has brought repeated, deadly accidents. In September 2023, a shaft collapsed at Bay Horse gold mine in Chegutu, west of Harare. Six people were reported dead and 15 trapped, while 13 others had escaped or been rescued. The incident was separate from Mukanhairi’s social media claims, but illustrates the serious hazards involved in underground gold mining.
Evangelist Chidziva condemned the stadium claim and urged Mukanhairi to show respect for the word of God. He said the apology had not addressed the decision to post information he considered unverified as a prophecy.
“In his apology, Prophet Mukanhairi had no reason to describe his claim as a parable unless he doesn’t yet know the meaning of a parable.”It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”He is trying to portray that his claim had a heavenly meaning which he forgot to explain again thereby further running away from the truth.”By so doing, Prophet Mukanhairi is expressing his remorse instead of repenting from misleading the world,” said Chidziva.
Chidziva cited Jeremiah 23:21 and 31 and quoted the passage: “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.” He said:
“In this passage of scripture, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah regarding self-appointed messengers in ancient Judah.”The ‘running’ used here implies rushing forward eagerly or acting with unwarranted haste to deliver a message they claim is from God, even though God never commissioned them.”The core warning is that false prophets often display an eager, self-propelled urgency to speak before God has actually given them a true word, misleading people with their own imaginations.”
Mukanhairi’s statement closed by asking the public and media to treat it as the accurate account of what he meant. Yet the episode has left his followers with two sharply different descriptions from the same source: an initial post identifying goldfields beneath two specific Harare sites, and a later explanation that the message was a national parable and was never intended to point to any particular place.