TB Joshua exposes Zanu PF schizophrenia

By Brian Ngwenya

It has been interesting to notice how the prophecies and, of course, the announcement of Nigerian Prophet TB Joshua’s intended visit to Zimbabwe has ignited a conflicting array of responses ranging from anything between hope for salvation or a chance for a miraculous healing amongst scores of Zimbabwe’s large Christian community to fear, panic and despondency among some of our political leaders, particularly those in Zanu PF.

The first listed of these reactions do not need any annexure explanations considering the popularity of TB Joshua’s healing and prophecy sessions amongst scores of Zimbabwe’s free-to-air satellite viewers.

Indeed, there have been numerous reports by the media of high-ranking government officials — including some from Zanu PF — and captains of industry who have visited the prophet’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos for health, financial, spiritual and — God knows — even for political reasons.

It is barely unimaginable that many other such well-to-do figures may indeed have visited the prophet away from the media’s gaze. The poor and average Zimbabwean who cannot afford air fares to Nigeria obviously welcomes the visit for a chance to see this prophet in person or, with a bit of favour, receive personal deliverance.

Many, of course, will also hope that the prophet will say a blessing against the economic and political woes that have bedevilled our country for over a decade since 2000. There is really no need to drive home the epitome of hope, however, viewed that the intended visit of TB Joshua carries to a significant proportion of Zimbabwe’s Christian population.

It is equally unnecessary to pontificate on the poignant political consequences of depriving this important section of the electorate the chance to live through these hopes as has been suggested by some misplaced figures.

Having said this, it is the surprising reactions of the latter group that has tried everything in its arsenals, not only to falsify and demonise TB Joshua, but also to thwart his visit to Zimbabwe that this article seeks to delve on.

To begin with, it is quite mind-boggling how a party like Zanu PF that has been around for so long can be subjected to trepidations by a man so geographically-distanced from the Zimbabwean political theatre – the distance between Lagos and Harare is not less than 4 000 kilometres (as the crow flies).

In any case, TB Joshua’s SCOAN church has so far not had as much physical presence in the country as have other prophetic churches such as, say his Nigerian compatriot Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s Christ Embassy.

Yet Zanu PF and its pundits have been jibed by the said visit of the man from Nigeria to the extent of hurling all the insults they can command, accusing him of being a false prophet at best, and a conspiring agent of the West — at the worst — please forgive the pun.

The man’s sin: prophesying the death of an elderly African leader within 60 days.

Whether the death of Bingu wa Mutharika was a fulfilment of the prophecy or it was coincidental is quite another matter. One thing stands out, that the prophecy really shrieked Zanu PF out.

Even when Zanu PF’s unsolicited and profuse justifications that the prophecy was not directed at any of Zimbabwe’s leadership were vindicated following wa Mutharika’s death, the loathing for the man did not subside. This is despite the fact that TB Joshua’s prophecy was, as a matter of fact, as vague as it was nameless.

In a continent where the politics of long incumbency is anything, but surprising, an old African leader, without naming, may be just, but the leader in the room next door at any conference of the African Union.

But perhaps there is little cause to be surprised by Zanu PF’s ultra-queer behaviour. Its long belief both in the quasi-religious and the supernatural is well documented.

It is the same party that arranged State-financed trips to a small hill in Chinhoyi when Rotina Mavhunga, a bogus traditional leader, claimed that she had “discovered” supernatural diesel that was to alleviate the country’s then fuel crisis.

Could it be that their loathing for TB Joshua emanates, ironically, from their very strong belief in these matters, that they have taken yet another trip to another Chinhoyi hill?

Besides, Zanu PF has always been known for its penchant for hugging church leaders of questionable credentials who have taken spins in the political arena with active encouragement. Names like the excommunicated Anglican Bishop Kunonga, Obadiah Msindo and several Apostolic sect leaders come to mind.

The latter have gone a step further by endorsing President Robert Mugabe through peddling Zanu PF’s policies, thronging stadia during commemorations of national events and churning out pro-Zanu PF and pro-Mugabe propaganda.

As a quick reminder, Zanu PF is the same party that allowed the late convicted serial rapist-cum-prophet Madzibaba Nzira to come out of jail and return to mobilising Apostolic members for its interests.

Why some religious leaders should be allowed to meddle in politics while others are persecuted for the perception that they are, or rather will, if at all, is as treacherous as it is absurd. One Zanu PF apologist was reported to have said TB Joshua may not be allowed into the country because of his known tendency to meddle in politics.

Whose politics? Where? Have the chickens come home to roost? Or maybe it’s just fear of the unknown.

Yet again, Zanu PF mouthpieces have been alleging that the same TB Joshua they have been vilifying also prophesied that Morgan Tsvangirai will never rule the country. Why then should Zanu PF defame a courier of such pleasant tidings? It is not typical of Zanu PF.

Everything about Zanu PF’s reaction to TB Joshua’s prophecies and planned visit smirks of the treachery and schizophrenia. It exposes Zanu PF’s double standards and its selfish and bigoted opinion of itself. It reveals how much Zanu PF’s positions and policies prevaricate and oscillate not for the good of the people, but for its own good.

However, it also reveals in larger measures the level of fear and schizophrenic desperation that is running in the party’s veins.

Brian Ngwenya is a political analyst and PhD candidate based in Gweru. This article was initially published in NewsDay