The Sunday Mail
Dennis Chimanzi
THOSE that pass through the intersection of Speke Avenue and First Street in Harare often find it difficult to ignore the piercing voice of Trymore Muparinga, a street preacher.
For a very long time, Muparinga has literally camped at this intersection, preaching the word of God to huge crowds.
Besides evangelisation, the Mazowe-born preacher also entertains those that come to listen to his sermon. His rib-cracking jokes, often delivered in-between sermons, have also been a star attraction.
Popularly known as Evangelist Muparinga, the street preacher first attracted the nation’s attention in 2014 when the video of a sermon that he conducted at a funeral in Mvurwi went viral.
The video garnered over a million views on YouTube. Since then, the preacher has been using street sermons and social media to win the hearts of many lost souls.
Evangelist Muparinga’s rise from the biblical “dust” is a typical rags-to-riches story.
Born in Mazowe in 1977, he grew up at Jumbo Mine before relocating to Harare in 1998. Married to Regerai Mutupanyama, with whom he has three kids, Evangelist Muparinga’s testimony reads like a page from a fiction novel.
“When I relocated to Harare, I fell on hard times and became a drunkard. For eight years, I was a well- known imbiber and violent man, particularly in Kuwadzana, where I stayed,” he said in an interview with The Sunday Mail Society.
In an unexpected turn of events, Evangelist Muparinga was “forced” to abandon the sinful life and started to serve the Lord.
“I was asleep one day, in 2006, when I had a strange dream in which I was being ordered to stop drinking and serve the Lord. When I woke up the following morning, I started preaching at the Kuwadzana 4 bus terminus.”
Since he was a well-known drunkard, the evangelist’s mission was not initially well-received by the locals.
“I was not presentable and many people thought that I was either a destitute or mad man. It was very difficult to impress upon people that I was not having some mental issues,” revealed Evangelist Muparinga.
“I did not look down upon myself because of the challenges I was faced with. I had made a decision to serve the Lord and in a way anticipated some of the hurdles I came across.”
The preacher then decided to conduct his sermons in Harare’s central business district.
Without money, he often walked to the city centre from Kuwadzana, a distance of more than 15 kilometres.
Drawing the attention of listeners in the city centre was not an easy task.
During that period, the likes of “Kapfupi” and “Wasu we Wire” ruled the roost with their hugely popular street performances.
Evangelist Muparinga then decided to spice up his sermons with comic acts.
The decision paid off!
“There was stiff competition. I then started to blend my preaching with some comedy. This then meant that I would entertain the audience but at the same time deliver the word to them,” he explained.
More and more people started congregating at the place where he was preaching.
Evangelist Muparinga then started his own church, “Embassy of God Ministries” and has gradually become a man of means over the years.
He currently lives, for free, in a full house in Waterfalls. A congregant who is based in the United Kingdom offered the preacher the house.
That is not all.
Some members of his church recently bought a residential stand for him in the affluent suburb of Borrowdale.
A local bank has also chipped in and is taking care of the preacher’s upkeep.
Apart from driving a decent car, Evangelist Muparinga also recently toured Israel where he visited all the biblical sites.
All these positive developments are coming as a surprise to the street preacher who had a rough past.
“I’m humbled by everything I have achieved in life and thank those that are supporting me,” he said.
