Born as Shingirai Chirume on 25th December, 1977, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa is a Zimbabwean Pentecostal pastor, prophet, and televangelist. He is the founder and senior pastor of the United Family International Church (UFIC), one of Zimbabwe's largest megachurches, headquartered in Harare with branches across Southern Africa, the UK, and Australia. His ministry has drawn both a large following and sustained controversy over his healing and prophecy claims.
Early Life
Emmanuel Makandiwa was born on December 25, 1977, in the Muzarabani district of Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe, into a family of small farmers. His parents were elders in the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) Church. In 1993, as a teenager, he spent six months participating in evangelistic "crusades" alongside the late Pastor Mukwaira, an early formative experience in his path toward ministry.
He went on to earn a Diploma in Theology from Living Waters Theological Seminary in Harare in 2002.
Read: Biography of Pastor Jacob Odunlami
Ministry Within the Apostolic Faith Mission
Prophet Makandiwa began his pastoral career within the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM), serving as an assistant pastor in Matabeleland under Reverend Aspher Madziyire, a former AFM president. He was subsequently assigned to an assembly in Shangani, before being transferred in 2004 to How Mine and later to the Hebron Assembly in Chitungwiza.
Founding the United Family International Church
On August 17, 2008, while still an AFM pastor, Makandiwa began leading an interdenominational prayer service at the Anglican Cathedral in Harare, which quickly drew large crowds and began airing on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. As the new ministry grew, AFM leadership reportedly gave him an ultimatum to either return fully to his AFM duties or continue his independent ministry — he chose the latter, and in 2010 formally established the movement as the **United Family International Church (UFIC)**.
UFIC has since grown into one of Zimbabwe's largest megachurches, headquartered in Harare with branches in Botswana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Zambia. In 2011, the church began construction of a 30,000-seat auditorium in Chitungwiza; the project was halted for roughly 18 months in 2013 amid a regulatory investigation before Zimbabwe's Environmental Management Agency permitted construction to resume in February 2015. The auditorium eventually opened in 2022. In 2013, UFIC also launched its own broadcast platform, Christ TV.
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Business and Political Ties
By February 2014, Makandiwa held a controlling stake in Radar Holdings, a company listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. While he has never publicly declared a political affiliation, he has been widely linked to Zimbabwe's former ruling party, ZANU-PF — notably officiating the March 2011 launch of the party's anti-sanctions campaign and signing a petition opposing European Union travel restrictions imposed on former president Robert Mugabe and other ZANU-PF officials.
In November 2014, Makandiwa conducted a mass wedding ceremony that directly contravened a Zimbabwean government directive banning such ceremonies — a policy introduced amid concerns that mass weddings were being used by foreign nationals to obtain marriages of convenience and, with them, Zimbabwean citizenship.
## Controversies
Makandiwa's ministry has drawn sustained public controversy over claims made during his services, including reported claims of healing HIV-positive status, and other widely circulated and disputed reports of unusual physical "miracles" performed on congregants. In January 2013, Zimbabwean media reported that gold dust had reportedly "rained" during one of his services, a claim that drew both fascination and skepticism.
In February 2014, a group of pastors from Ghana publicly accused Makandiwa of using charms or ritual objects to produce his reported miracles, reportedly intending to petition then-President Robert Mugabe to have UFIC shut down. Around the same period, Leo Mugabe — a nephew of the former president — publicly alleged that Makandiwa had failed to heal his mother, who remained in a coma for several years, further fueling public skepticism toward his claims. A separate, unverified allegation from another Southern African prophet suggested Makandiwa and fellow Zimbabwean prophet Uebert Angel had received ritual items from a Ghanaian prophet, Victor Kusi Boateng - a claim Makandiwa has not been reported to have publicly addressed in detail.
In December 2012, Makandiwa filed a $2 million lawsuit against Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe over a publication banner he said wrongly linked him to a separate Anglican Church controversy.
In August 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Makandiwa stated that he had earlier prophesied the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the virus — a claim that drew renewed scrutiny given hydroxychloroquine's disputed and ultimately unproven efficacy against COVID-19 in clinical research.
Marriage and Family
Emmanuel Makandiwa is happily married to his heartthrob, Pastor Ruth Makandiwa (née Makawa), whom he wed in 2002. The couple have five children and continue to serve in ministry together at UFIC.
Read: Biography of Pastor Ruth Makandiwa
Notable Ministers Under UFIC
UFIC's roster of ministers has included **Michael Mahendere, a gospel musician, pastor, and producer who rose to prominence after his re-arrangement of the song "Makanaka Jesu" with the UFI Choir became a hit within the ministry.
Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa is active on social media. You can connect with him via his official handles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X, alongside his ministry's official platforms at ufiministries.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
**What church did Emmanuel Makandiwa found?**
He founded the United Family International Church (UFIC) in Harare, Zimbabwe, established as an interdenominational ministry in 2008 and formally renamed in 2010.
**What controversies has Emmanuel Makandiwa faced?**
He has faced public accusations, including from a group of Ghanaian pastors, that his reported miracles involve the use of charms or ritual objects, alongside broader skepticism over specific healing claims and a widely reported "gold rain" incident during one of his services.
**Is Emmanuel Makandiwa politically affiliated?**
He has never publicly declared a political affiliation, though he has been linked to Zimbabwe's former ruling party, ZANU-PF, including officiating a 2011 party campaign launch.
Related Reading
- Biography of Prophet Uebert Angel
- Biography of Apostle Harrison Ayintete
- Biography of Pastor May Ayintete
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