Entertainment Review Writer
Can one ever forget that picture of controversial Harare pastor T Freddy poignantly singing, “Veduwe ndiri kurwadziwa” (I’m pained) after his church had been demolished in Glen View two years ago?
Unfortunately, even more pain has visited the Man of God, again.
On Thursday, Harare City Council came back to haunt the cleric again, demolishing Freddy’s house in the same suburb despite him saying he had all the legal papers to settle on the land, acquired six years ago.
Deputy Mayor of Harare, Kudzanai Kadzombe wrote on X that the demolished houses were on a planned road site and disrupted movements, an explanation that divided opinion.
Narrating the latest ordeal, Freddy wrote:
“Today is a challenging day for me as my residential house has been demolished.
“It’s a distressing situation, especially considering that six years ago, the Harare City Council legally allocated me a residential stand in Glen View. I followed all the necessary regulations and paperwork to build a small house that I could afford.
“Unfortunately, this is not the only hardship I’ve faced. Our church was also demolished 2 years ago, marking the second time I’ve been directly affected by such an event.”
But this time Freddy is not so dispirited – and certainly didnt compose another mournful dirge about the inciden. (At least initially, as the the prophet later expressed grief on the same Facebook platform even questioning, “Why me”).
He put up a brave face and said he would pray about it.
“In the face of these difficulties, I turn to prayer and encourage my fellow church members not to lose heart.
“Despite the setbacks, I remain steadfast in my faith and trust that there is a reason why God allows such things to happen.
“Today, even with my house demolished, I will continue to hold on to my unwavering belief in Him.”
Clr Kadzombe said: “We have received enquiries about why Prophet T Freddy’s house and 5 others were demolished today. “This was a result of a residents petition as these houses were allocated by council without doing due diligence on a road in 2017 and it blocked school children and other residents who had to use a longer and dangerous route to go to school and work etc.”
The city authorities claimed that the affected families were being reallocated new stands and their houses constructed and materials supplied by the City of Harare builders at no cost to the victims.
“Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused to the Glenview community and the affected families,” the deputy Mayor said.
However, a number of people questioned why demolitions took place before relocations and compensation.
Some residents pointed out that the incident indicated corruption and irregular allocations and approvals of properties in the opposition run Council.