A pastor who had claimed God told him President Robert Mugabe would die on Tuesday has now said "God has changed His mind", Times Live reports.

The news site reports Pastor Phillip Muguzada as saying:

As to why God postponed that‚ He never told me that - so I really don’t know why God chose that direction. I know many people were actually expecting the fulfillment of the prophetic word‚ because of what is happening in this nation. "

 

It's still the top trending story on the South African news site, reflecting the mixture of incredulity, mirth and confusion with which people people have reacted to the story.

Zimbabwean pastor Phillip Mugadza recently tried and failed in his bid to get the country's top court to throw out charges against him for prophesying that President Robert Mugabe, 93, would die on 17th October 2017.

The case would now return to the magistrates court, where Pastor Mugadza - the leader of The Remnant Church - has been charged with "causing offence to persons of a particular race and religion or alternatively causing criminal nuisance".

At the time of his arrest, his lawyer Gift Mtisi had told the BBC:

He's admitting to the facts. He says he didn't lie - that's a message from God. Police will have to prove God didn't say it."

 

Pastor Mugadza's lawyers asked the Constitutional Court to throw out the charges on the grounds that they violated his right to free speech.

The prosecution alleges that the pastor insulted the Christian religion and African tradition by predicting Mr Mugabe's death.

Predicting the death of a leader is taboo, according to traditional beliefs.