“Your wife Ruth to die soon during medical operation”: Chilling prophecy delivered to Makandiwa after row with Chiwenga (WATCH VIDEOS)

A Zimbabwean religious figure has issued a grim prediction about Ruth Makandiwa, claiming that the wife of Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa will die during a stomach operation unless her husband apologises to Apostle Talent Chiwenga.

Madzibaba Kobo made the claim in a video posted online as a fierce exchange between Makandiwa and Chiwenga widened beyond their churches and into the country’s social media conversation. Kobo said the apology should be made over Makandiwa’s remarks about Chiwenga’s late wife, who died in a road crash in 2019. He placed his prediction about Ruth in 2028.

The video follows a bitter dispute that began after Chiwenga questioned why prominent prophets had not warned businessman Wicknell Chivayo about the helicopter crash that killed him, his wife and other people on 30 September. Makandiwa responded during a church service, challenging Chiwenga’s standing to criticise other preachers when he had lost his own wife in a crash.

The most personal part of Makandiwa’s response referred to Chiwenga as a woman and used the word “husband” for his late wife. “You had your husband in the car. It was you driving. Where was your God?” Makandiwa said.

The reference was to the fatal accident on the Harare–Masvingo highway near the Chatsworth turn-off on 12 June 2019. Chiwenga was driving and was seriously injured. His wife, Rejoice Jerina Chiwenga, and two other passengers, Rosemary Vhurumuku and Eugene Tafadzwa Kanyuchi, died.

Kobo’s video brought that loss back into the argument. He called on Makandiwa to apologise to Chiwenga and presented the prediction about Ruth as a consequence if he did not. He specified a stomach operation and said Ruth would die in 2028. The message turned an already personal dispute into a public claim about the health and life of a church leader’s spouse.

The footage identifies Kobo as Madzibaba Kobo, also known as Madzibaba Isaiah. His warning came after Makandiwa and Chiwenga had traded accusations over prophecy, church teaching and the death of Chivayo. The three men’s statements have travelled across online platforms, where short clips have been shared and discussed alongside longer recordings of sermons and responses.

A dispute sparked by Chivayo’s death

Chiwenga’s criticism followed Chivayo’s death in a helicopter crash in Mashonaland East. Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke and other passengers were travelling from Gandami, in Chikomba District, towards Marondera when the aircraft came down at Kudenga Farm. The crash occurred about 40 minutes after take-off.

The loss prompted questions about whether prophets close to the businessman had foreseen what would happen. Chiwenga directed criticism at church leaders who had relationships with Chivayo and asked why they had not warned him against the flight. Makandiwa was a particular focus because he had been close to the businessman and his family.

Chivayo had publicly associated with Makandiwa and his wife, Ruth. He had given the couple expensive vehicles and pledged US$1 million towards a United Family International Church building project. Makandiwa and Ruth had also met Chivayo and Lucy at dinner five days before the crash. Their friendship became part of the public discussion after the deaths, as people asked whether a close spiritual adviser should have anticipated the disaster.

Makandiwa had already addressed questions about his failure to predict the crash. He said he had never claimed to see every future event. In a statement after the accident, he wrote: “I reiterate that I have never seen everything, I don’t see everything, and I won’t see everything. Only God does.”

During the later service, he returned to that defence and said that a prophet could lose family members without having predicted their deaths. He argued that Chiwenga, of all people, should understand why a prophet might not foresee a tragedy. Makandiwa asked why Chiwenga was questioning others over a loss similar to the one he had suffered.

Chiwenga objected to the use of his wife’s death in the dispute and challenged Makandiwa to debate him on biblical teaching. He has said that their differences should be about doctrine rather than personal matters. The exchange has therefore moved through several stages: first, a dispute over whether Chivayo’s crash should have been foreseen; then a direct reference to Chiwenga’s bereavement; and now Kobo’s prediction about Ruth.

The helicopter crash has brought a separate investigation under way. The aircraft went down in a rural area east of Harare, and all those aboard were reported dead. Early official briefings gave a toll of six. A later government update listed five occupants: Chivayo, Muteke, their aide Sanelisiwe Magagula and pilots Calvin Soda and Courage Mutavira.

The government said the wreckage had been moved to a hangar for forensic examination, with international experts assisting. The inquiry is expected to examine the aircraft, weather conditions, maintenance records and information about the operator and crew. A preliminary report was expected within 30 days of the crash. Officials have not announced a cause.

The Civil Aviation Authority’s initial account said fuel spilled after impact and a fire followed. That description was an early finding at the site, not a final explanation of why the helicopter crashed. The investigation is expected to establish the circumstances through examination of the wreckage and other records.

The 2019 crash that killed Chiwenga’s wife also left him critically injured. Police said at the time that three passengers had died. Chiwenga survived and later returned to public preaching. The accident has been mentioned repeatedly in the current dispute because Makandiwa used it to challenge his criticism of other prophets.

Makandiwa’s remarks went beyond the original question of whether a prophet should have foreseen a fatal flight. Chiwenga has responded to the personal nature of the comments, while Kobo has added a separate and more severe prediction directed at Ruth. The arguments have placed two bereavements, the deaths of Chivayo and his companions, and the wellbeing of the Makandiwa family in the same public exchange.

Kobo’s claim is framed as a warning that Makandiwa can avert the predicted death by apologising. He linked that demand to the words Makandiwa directed at Chiwenga after the helicopter crash. In doing so, he has made Ruth’s future the centre of a quarrel that began with questions about Chivayo’s death and the reach of prophetic knowledge.

Chiwenga’s challenge began with a question about foresight. Makandiwa answered by invoking the 2019 crash that killed Chiwenga’s wife, and Kobo’s video carried the dispute further by demanding an apology and naming a stomach operation and a year for his prediction. Meanwhile, investigators have moved the helicopter wreckage for forensic examination and are preparing a preliminary report.