Isaac Amata, national coordinator of Zion Fellowship International—a popular Nigerian church in Zambia—has said the country’s President Edgar Lungu will lose his reelection bid in August if he does not reverse the prophet’s visa rejection by Zambian immigration.
“I just received a message from my Zambian national coordinator, that my visa application to visit my church in the nation of Zambia was rejected,” Amata said in a video posted online Tuesday and currently circulating on Zambian social media.
“What audacity! For a prophet who has been a blessing to the nation of Zambia since 2016 rejected, for what reason? And the Lord is saying, ‘Speak! To the leader…Edgar Lungu. You know about it or not…You reject my prophet, I reject your victory in August 2021 unless you reverse it.’ This is the word of God to the nation of Zambia.”
Following the online stir attendant to the prophet’s message, Zambia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement today cautioning Amata and addressing the visa rejection.
“Like any other country, decision of a visa application is discretional. The Immigration and Deportation Act No. 18 of 2010 of the Laws of Zambia vests discretion on an immigration officer to either grant or deny a visa application,” said the statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson Nephas Chifuta.
Chifuta said the reason for the visa denial was communicated to Amata and had nothing to do with President Lungu; and that, while freedom of expression was guaranteed in Zambia, it must be anchored on sincerity. Government, he added, would take appropriate legal action on the matter.
Amata, a controversial Pentecostal figure in Zambia, was arrested and tried in 2018 on drug charges but was acquitted by the court. He is known for prophesying on political matters in the country, including on the president’s election.
He is not alone in said controversy.
Another Nigerian prophet in Zambia Andrew Ejimadu popularly known as Seer 1 faced a constant row with the Zambian president, whose victory he equally prophesied in 2016. He was deported from Zambia following a rape allegation and a fallout with the government.
For “constantly attacking” the Zambian president from his new base in South Africa, Zambia last year called on the Nigerian government to caution him.
This story first appeared in Nigeria Abroad
