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“Prophet” Shepherd Bushiri is not the only one; South Africa has a host of controversial clerics.
Here are some of them:
. Alph Lukau – Alleluia Ministries International
The Congo-born pastor dominated headlines after a video of him supposedly raising a man from the dead went viral, sparking a hilarious challenge on social media.
But Lukau has made headlines before – single women in his congregation forked out hundreds of rands for an “all-night prayer” to find a husband.
. Lethebo Rabalago – Mount Zion General Assembly
News of the man who used Doom insecticide to “heal” his church members flooded the internet in November 2016.
Posts on Mount Zion General Assembly’s Facebook page say Rabalago uses the insect spray on “affected” body parts.
In an interview with eNCA, the “prophet” said he blessed the insecticide before using it to heal people who had cancer, HIV, ulcers and other illnesses.
He told TimesLive: “Some people came with injuries, but we sprayed them and they were healed. No one inspired me.
I just believe in God for anything. Everything here on Earth belongs to God. Petrol belongs to God. Doom belongs to God.”
. Uriah Maseko – Church On The Hill Ministries
Maseko gives booze to people who are in search of healing.
Images of church members drinking alcohol during a service went viral last month.
Daily Sun reported that Maseko used Russian Bear vodka “to minister healing and deliverance to the sick and those who needed deliverance”.
He invited people with HIV to drink the vodka and be healed. Maseko said the Holy Spirit told him to give his church members booze.
“God uses different methods to perform miracles. Nothing, including healing, is impossible for God. I’m not the one who heals. I was led by the spirit to use alcohol,” he said.
. Timothy Omotoso – Jesus Dominion International Church
Omotoso is on trial in the Port Elizabeth High Court on multiple charges of sexual assault and human trafficking.
The flamboyant Nigerian pastor allegedly sexually groomed young girls who he forced to stay with him at his house in Durban.
He last appeared in court in January, when his trial was postponed to April 16.
. Prophet Light Monyeki – Grace Living Hope Ministries
In 2016, members of the church in Soshanguve received a shocking revelation from Monyeki: rat poison mixed with water is for “nourishment and healing” and “the power of God”.
The Citizen reported that when Monyeki was feeding his church members the poison, he said: “We do not need to proclaim faith because we are believers. If nyaope boys can smoke Rattex for more than eight years, who are we? Death has no power over us.”
. Pastor Hamilton Nala – Nala Mandate International
Nala, who is based in KwaZulu-Natal, claimed in an interview on eNCA’s CheckPoint in November 2013 that he could cure homosexuality and HIV.
According to his website, Nala sells products that assist people with problems – from faith water, miracle cloths and Nala pens to faith honey and Nala juice.
. Pastor Aphiwe Ngevu
Ngevu claimed to deliver sermons from inside a coffin to emphasise the need for humans to accept Jesus as the son of God.
A church member told reporters in 2015 that he used the coffin as a means to urge people to accept God because, once they died, it would be too late.
However, residents protested, saying his antics were disrespectful and he was scaring children.
. Pastor Lesego Daniel – Rabboni Centre Ministries
Daniel’s congregants have been made to drink petrol, and eat grass and sunflowers.
In 2015, Daniel claimed to have prayed a “gay spirit” into a young man to prove he is a “true” man of God.
“I have come to realise homosexuality is a spirit, whether you are born with it, whether you got it after you were born – it’s like Aids,” he said.
. Pastor Mpho Moletsane
Moletsane, who is from Fochville in Gauteng, allegedly slept with women to “free them of demons”.
The Daily Sun reported church members’ fears that he would start having sex with their children.
Sarah Ramphomane told the newspaper that he was having an affair with a relative’s daughter.
“He came to tell us she was possessed by the spirit of lust and that he was going to pray for her, but instead he started sleeping with her! We wonder what kind of deliverance that is,” she said.
. Prophet Paseka “Mboro” Motsoeneng – Incredible Happenings Ministries
Motsoeneng blesses people’s underwear. In April 2016, he said he did this to “transfer anointing”.
“So, instead of laying my hands, I speak to the underwear,” he said.
Motsoeneng has been captured on tape ordering congregants to wave their underwear high in the air and hold their private parts “so that angels can impregnate and bless them”.
. Pastor Penuel Mnguni – End Times Disciples Ministries
Mnguni first made headlines four years ago when he fed his congregants snakes, leading to him being known as the “snake pastor”.
Recently, a video of him feeding his congregants dog meat and blood – supposedly as a cure for cancer – went viral.
“If there is anything not right inside your stomach, I’m saying today, you will recover,” he told his congregation.
In the video from October, he can be seen feeding dog meat to his followers.
In a separate post, which displays pictures of the dog before, during and after it was slaughtered, he says: “It is not what goes through the mouth that disqualifies us and defiles us, but what comes out of the mouth.”
. Deon Hockey – Volle Evangeliese Kerk van God
Although he denies claims that he raised a woman from the dead, Rapport reported how Hockey’s congregants were convinced they saw him doing just that in January.
Rapport reported that the elderly Tracey Forsyth had an “incident” during the service that left her lying breathless on a church bench.
Some people tried to wake her up, while others prayed. When visiting pastor Hockey placed his hands on her and prayed, she reportedly woke up and started breathing.
But Hockey said there was no medical evidence that she had died. “She coincidentally woke up when I touched her, that is all,” he said.
. Prophet Bongani Maseko – Breath of Christ Ministries
The Star reported that Maseko made his congregants drink vehicle engine cleaning fluid during a sermon in January 2017. Asked why, he said it was “to demonstrate the power of God”.
“When we pray over anything, its poison dies. So it can’t harm people. Nothing happened, no one has been to hospital.”
On the contrary, he said, devotees who drank it had been “saved, healed and delivered”.
. Alfred Ndlovu
Ndlovu died of malnutrition after going without food for 30 days when he tried to emulate Jesus Christ and fast for 40 days and 40 nights.
Buzz SA reported that the 44-year-old pastor left home to pray nearby.
His body was found by a stranger, who called the police. His church members were shocked by his death.
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