Eunor Guti’s Sunday Sermon Turns Into Plea for Loyalty After Chivayo’s “Gift” Granting — But No Word Against Corruption

By A Correspondent | ZimEye | HARARE – Apostle Eunor Guti, widow of the late ZAOGA founder Ezekiel Guti, spent her Sunday sermon passionately urging members not to leave the church — but said nothing to denounce the multimillion-dollar “gift” she received from convicted fraudster Wicknell Chivayo, a man widely viewed as the public face of Zimbabwe’s looting elite.

Instead of publicly rejecting the US$250,000 in cash and 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser that Chivayo paraded online as an offering to the church matriarch, Guti broke into songs of unity, quoted scripture, and likened internal conflict to demonic attacks, all while strategically avoiding the elephant in the sanctuary: her acceptance of a gift tainted by state-enabled corruption.

“Bind us together, Lord,” she chanted repeatedly, launching into a prolonged call for church members to remain in the institution. “Don’t go out of the church,” she urged, even comparing congregants who feel offended to cockroaches wrongly blaming the book that crushed them — a metaphor critics now say cleverly shifts attention from corrupt leadership to personal bitterness.

Not once in her more than 90-minute address did Apostle Guti acknowledge that Chivayo — the man offering her luxury and cash — is under investigation by South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Unit over R1 billion in diverted public funds. Nor did she mention Chivayo’s many failed tenders in Zimbabwe, from the undelivered Gwanda Solar Project to the controversial ZEC ballot tender.

In fact, her silence on the source of the wealth she just received speaks volumes. Instead of taking a Biblical stand — as Christ did when he called out hypocrites and chased money changers from the temple — Guti chose vague spiritual platitudes.

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” she said, arguing that the real enemy is not people, but unseen forces. For some observers, this was an implicit defense — softening criticism toward visible perpetrators like Chivayo by making spiritual generalizations that shield individuals from accountability.

In doing so, Guti sent a loud message: The church will not confront looters. It will bless them with praise and protect them with scripture.

Compare this to prophetic figures like Thomas Mapfumo, who publicly rejected Chivayo’s attempted bribery. While Mapfumo called out “blood money” for what it is, Guti opened the pulpit to a choreographed service soaked in worship and carefully worded unity messaging — but void of ethical clarity.

Nowhere was Jesus’ command to “hate evil” echoed. Nowhere was Paul’s demand for holiness in leadership reflected. Instead, the congregation was told to stay in the church, forgive offenses, and avoid fighting “books” — a spiritual sleight of hand that critics say amounts to protecting the powerful.

In the end, while the car key may have been quietly taken, Guti’s microphone on Sunday was loud — loud in loyalty messaging, but silent on corruption. The result? A sermon that functioned more as an endorsement of Wicknell Chivayo than a defense of God’s truth.