Johane Masowe preached against politics

By Wilfred Kushure

My thinking here has been persuaded by fellow church members who have raised voices against my writing about the church and its ‘hidden’ prophecies.

I have argued that we are in an African setting under an African black government and revealing the same to an African black audience who are the implicated and with a stake in Johane’s mission. I have also argued that truth is stubborn and it was meant to come out anyway, one way or the other.

I acknowledge that the excuse is not enough but I safely reside in the privacy of my self assuredness that even many of ours do not quite comprehend the mission of Johane.

This writing has also been prompted by some political zealots who thought that I was sponsored by someone to write against their party. I told them that I am of Johane and do not worship some political earthly desperations which are nothing in the eyes of a much Higher authority I belong to.

And that coming down to belong to some political formation is a great fall which I can manage to avoid by all Godly spiritual means possible. I would never understand a Masowe Mupositori also being a politician and supporting politics.

Requiring an earthly authority whilst at the same time following and living under the omnipotent authority of God is delinquent.

I contentedly reasoned that political parties and governments are subordinate to the one I worship. They are desperately fighting over crumps of the earthly mess which is a nothing in the eyes of our High God.

Some tried to qualify themselves that ‘we are into politics because Johane was a politician’ because of his sentiments against and opposition to government.

Johane was not political and he taught against politics. I think he was, and his gospel still is, and will always be anarchist, in a religious sense (Johane wakaramba zvenyika). ‘The true founder of anarchy was Jesus Christ and … the first anarchist society was that of the apostles…..

Christ founded no church, established no state, gave practically no laws, organized no government and set up no external authority, but he did seek to write on the hearts of men God’s law and make them self-legislating.’Georges Lechartier, Anarchism : A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements (1962)

The word anarchy means ‘against the existing authority’. Religious anarchy points to a Higher and only valid and contesting government which is that of God and his Heavenly Kingdom.

Religious Anarchy is the humble truthful rebellion against earthly laws and authorities and the ultimate submission to God. Power over man is bound up with sin and evil.

Those who seek power over man crave over evil for selfish motives. The Kingdom of God is freedom and the absence of man power and total allegiance to the Kingdom of God is anarchy in a religious sense.

Anarchy is a Greek word and in short means ‘without government’. When Johane came, he taught us against obeying the government. He told us, ‘Munezvavo hamuna zvangu, munezvangu hamuna zvavo. Humambo huviri husingasangane…’

Losely translated means the Johane Masowe apostolic religion and earthly governments are two contesting authorities with one against the other. He told us to pay allegiance to and obey only one authority, Jesus Christ!

The word Anarchy has been misunderstood to mean violence and chaos. It brings up images of bomb-throwing assassins and libertines. Religious anarchy has nothing to do with violent rebellion against the political system of government.

That would be too great an honour to be afforded to an earthly establishment. Religious anarchy is totally, unequivocally opposed to violence and lawlessness. It is total submission to only one authority. That of God.

The rise of lawlessness and violence is a direct cause of the State institution. To be an honest opponent of organised crime, organised violence, and organised lawlessness, one must be a true opponent of the State institution and a true follower of the Word of Peace and Love as brought us by Jesus Christ.

Christ is Love, He is Righteousness and needs no government authority for either Him or His people. He is The First and the Last! The religion of Christ is the religion that sent Johane to us. The position of Christ in relation to earthly governments is the position Johane furthered to Africa, and the position we in Johane Maoswe hold till to this day.

Our God and not Government, decides and dictates the laws of culture, morality and rules of decent
 behaviour. Our God is the epitome of living and He sets the standards of morality.

‘’We recognize that the modern state is a machine for coercion and exploitation, that combinations of unconverted people must, inevitably produce enormous injustices, and that Satan exercises enormous control in all such structures.’’ (Christian and State website).

Governments, kings and chiefs have hijacked and dominated us for too long. They have assumed the high office of controlling how to live, forcing obedience and pretending to be the custodians of God’s authority.

We have let ourselves succumb to political and social pressures through poisonous media to think that governments were appointed by God to rule over us. They have only been allowed to do it.

We need a spiritual REVOLUTION! We need to awaken ourselves and see that we have been cheated. Those of us who belong to Jesus have been taken for granted and we have wasted our time trusting wrong messages. We must repent and come back to Jesus!

Jesus came and committed the ultimate violent revolutionary act by offering himself as a martyr and sacrifice for the world. Johane came and committed the ultimate peaceful revolutionary act by offering himself as sacrifice and as martyr to the world and died a similar violent death.

Their Gospel defeated the powers of deceit and darkness by unleashing a secret force of resistance into the hearts and aspirations of the humble masses of the Christian community.

Johane taught the following;

• Not to attend formal education and not to send our children to formal schools to attend the ‘western’ style education. The government insists that everyone must go to school. According to government laws it is child abuse if you do not send your children to school or institutions of formal ‘western’ education?

• Johane taught against our children joining the army or the armed forces. He preached against us and our children becoming lawyers whose duties would require defending evil or punishing innocence or sentencing people to death. Such service is against Christian values and is condemnable.

• We must not seek formal employment and avoid reporting to anyone other than the Lord our God. Not seeking formal employment is also a way of avoiding paying any form of tax to government. Hence the teaching that if we give everything to God there won’t be anything left for us to give to Caesar.

• He taught us not work for government and also not to worship with Government workers, ‘Musanamate nevashandi vehurumende nokuti ivavo ndivo vanotengesa Izwi’.

• We must not go to and we do not send our families to modern medical institutions nor allow modern medicine administered on us or our children. That is a crime in our modern society under the current government laws to deny anyone medical care. It is regarded as child/women abuse if you ‘neglect’ your families by not sending them to medical institutions for medical attention.

• We have a strict dress code i.e. white/khaki shorts and t-shirts for men and white/khaki long skirts and t-shirts and head scarfs for women. Even in government offices if we are obliged to go to them. Even in law courts and even at any type of work. The government has laws that demand that the dress code must be ‘formal’ and according to their requirements, but against baba Johane teachings.

• We worship in open spaces even where vast government buildings are available and / or made available for us. Even where everybody things our practice can be a health hazard to us or our families. Even where the government thinks we are risking the lives of society and everybody else. Even where some man made by-laws state otherwise. We do not use enclosures for our church services. We are of Johane Masowe of the ‘Wilderness’

• Johane preached Friday to be the resting day. Even government business must stop from close of business on Thursday to close of day on Friday. Governments have colluded with the Sunday propositions to set aside Sunday as the day of worship. Johane did not agree and he taught against that.

• Johane preached against using the formal banking system. ‘Musazoita homwe dzemari’. We were warned that at one time we shall work up and realise the banking system is collapsed and all our savings are gone. This already happened some time during the hyperinflation era.

It can happen again and we must not use the formal banking system. This way we avoid being formalised and in a way get registered and start paying or required to pay some sort of obligations to some formal systems.

Johane preached against registering under the government (national ID’s). He was particularly against belonging to a government set up and warned of an impending danger where one day government would do call-ups and force children of Masowe to join some military service.

He refused to obtain government travel papers when crossing boarders into neighboring countries. Johane did not abide by government restrictions on his movements, and he never intended to be obedient to their laws even after they had persecuted him and tortured him.

He continued to preach and baptize even after he was arrested and imprisoned several more times for his teachings and religious practices. Government authorities often kept Johane under surveillance and held him suspect in all his evangelism.

He ignored the government and preached against government laws and declared that the True Kingdom of Jesus is coming. Johane was not intimidated by government authority and did not agree with government in many areas. He publicly denounced government and some government laws.

Even when he was faced with the heavy handed jaws of the colonial legal system at Marondera magistrate’s court, Johane told them that they would crumble in the hands of an armed revolt by the native masses.

He did not wait for when he was outside the court to tell of his protestations against government practices. He told government representatives present in that court that they would be removed from power.

• He even taught his followers against any form of violence against the government. He argued that violence against any authority would give that authority undue notice and undeserved respect. He taught Love and taught his followers to ignore earthly authorities and directed his people towards only God.

Johane taught against dishonesty, brutality and avariciousness. These are results of subjugation and frustration engendered by manmade laws.

You see sadness, poverty, tears and starvation around you and you realise that this is not by God. Our God is a God of mercy, Love and truthfulness. Governments are not of that. Whether elected or not elected, all governments are disastrous to humanity.

Governments are violent by nature because they thrive on conquering and subjecting and force. Governments suppress and kill to achieve total control. Governments are evil, deceitful and they are authoritarian.

According to a study by one Prof. R. J. Rummel, ‘’ Nearly 200 million murders have taken place in the 20th Century – all of them committed by the State….. Committed by the State against its “own” people.’’???

The character and teachings of Johane were revolutionary. It lays bare the myopia of fellow Christians who say they belong to Jesus and at the same time hold political office and aspire for positions of earthly authority. Johane taught us against that.

One wonders where the multitudes of our apostolic members are taking their gospel from if they are so terribly misled to join politics, join in political activities and fight for some political candidates to win elections to rule over them. (Johane akaramba.)

Johane Masowe differed with government and / or government authority. He taught and fought for a leaderless religious society that belongs to and obeys only God. He taught about a God fearing religious society that must focus on God and His laws (Muchitungamirwa nemitemo yandataura.)

When he left for South Africa in the late 30’s Johane left the church to ‘Nevanji’ church apostles. He did not nominate nor anoint anyone to take over from him. Johane left the church with vapositori vepaNevanji.

Not that he forgot to appoint a successor. Not that there was no fit and able successor. It is because the Johane Masowe gospel is against earthly leadership and earthly authorities which would distract the Christian followership from focusing on the ultimate God.

I understand that there are many out there even among our own Johane Masowe who are strongly opposed to not having earthly leadership. It is not uncommon to come across such people who are following a religion they do not understand or which they do not like and which in the process they fight from within so that it suits them or their thinking.

Johane brought in a revolution. He taught defiance to worldly order of things. He never agreed with much of what earthly powers require us to comply with. He sacrificed his life to see to it that this is the message to be spread to the Africans and chose to leave ‘Southern Rhodesia’ in search of liberty and religious freedom in SA, Zambia then settled in Kenya and later on Tanzania. He taught us to be left alone to serve only God and no one else.

Johane wanted to see religion based and religion governed society. He preached against man ruling over man. He preached against us holding positions of office. He preached that even if one is chosen to be a Headman, they must choose one and sacrifice the other between being Headman or Mupositori?

He strictly preached against government service which would require you to pass on laws and / or supervise government laws which in many ways would conflict with the Heavenly laws he was preaching.

Religious Anarchy requires that everyone obeys God and be a good person and that way the society will not need Government. The old social and political system in the Shona society just before Johane came was dominated not by chiefs and kings or even presidents. Not by government. It was dominated by religion and religious leaders like Mkwati, Nehanda and Chaminuka.

On his coming Johane registered his presence to the religious leaders in Mhondoro and commanded them to resign their duties and leave the people to follow only God. The religious leaders agreed (Matangira at Nyamweda in Mhondoro).

We derive from a Religion based society. During the pre-colonial era, chiefs were chosen by and reported to religious leaders. The prominence of kings, chiefs and headmen is a borrowed set up which came in with the Pioneer Column.

Chamiknuka, Mkwati, Kaguvi and Nehanda were more prominent than the chiefs of their time. These leaders were prominent not in governing or healing but they were prominent in their resistance to, prophesying against and their urging to fight colonial government styles and the whiteman.

Religious leaders in our Shona society advised and directed the chiefs. They were the authority. They were custodians of God’s people here on earth and reported to ‘Musikavanhu’.

This government system of today is a borrowed system of things which many will quickly jump to defend as modern, civilised or desirable. That will not take away its foreignness and its undesirability according to Johane Masowe.

Pressure from local authorities did not deter Johane. His missionary zeal launched his gospel into neighboring regions and countries. Johane despite his open fight with the government became very popular and a successful cross-cultural missionary inside Zimbabwe and abroad.

The Johane gospel is the spiritual gospel for a setup like the pre-monarchic Israelite(apostolic) society. That society was anarchistic. Even in the era of the Mosaic pilgrims and later era of the Israelites before Samuel, the Children of God did not have a king or chief or headman.

In this sphere of thinking there is no political allegiance to anyone or anything. Johane Maswoe and His people must not and do not belong to some political set up. The Founder Johane preached against, fought and denigrated government.

At no point in all his teachings did he differentiate between government of this and government of that. He spoke against government authority over people. Period! But on the issues against government, Johane spoke against government, black or white.

Johane vapositori cannot afford to be complacent and be like the world around them. If we become like the world, we are doomed to hell. The love of power, the craving for authority the lust of the flesh and eyes, is not of God as taught by Johane.

The original Israel rejected God by asking for a king to rule over them. That was not the original plan of God. Johane revealed that to us. We cannot afford to go with the wind and wish to be like them. Ours is the Kingdom of God.

This was and still is the true spirit of Johane Masowe. We are well taught to look up to no one but God. We have been accused and victimised for not going or sending our families to health institutions and schools and formal education arrangements.

We will continue to defy that and choose to follow the teachings of baba Johane. We will continue to ignore the government, lest we give this earthly authority some undue respect. We listen to our God through baba Johane. No form of politics or ulterior governance will change our orientation.

Our bodies can be tortured or persecuted but the Spirit of Johane prevails! We know that earthly governances are evil and all forms of politics is satanic. We belong to God through Jesus Christ.

The spirit of Johane lives on!