Tsvangirai will rule Zimbabwe: TB Joshua

By Njabulo Ncube

Former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has sought divine intervention following a controversial defeat to President Robert Mugabe in the July 31 polls, amid revelations yesterday the opposition leader had a sermon dedicated to him by Nigerian prophet Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua. 

An MDC-T legislator who worships at TB Joshua’s The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (Scoan) confirmed Tsvangirai was in Nigeria and had attended the church service yesterday.

MDC-T insiders told Southern Eye yesterday that Tsvangirai travelled to Nigeria to seek spiritual guidance from TB Joshua with pressure mounting on the MDC-T president to stand down as opposition leader following his latest electoral defeat.

Sources said Tsvangirai had travelled to Lagos at the behest of other top party leaders that have in the past attended TB Joshua’s services in the West African nation. Tsvangirai was shown on TB Joshua’s Miracle TV where a sermon was dedicated to the MDC-T leader.

The sermon was titled The University of God and focused on the difficulties one faces on the road to the throne. TB Joshua said one faces persecutions, name-calling, rejection and isolation even though they are heaven-ordained for higher service.

The sermon highlighted that God allows one to suffer on the road to the throne as a way of preparing them for the challenges ahead of them as well as to bring them closer to God and reform them.

TB Joshua equated Tsvangirai’s trials and tribulations to those of the biblical Joseph and Daniel.

Daniel was taken captive by the Babylonians and was at one time thrown into a lion’s den for refusing to obey the king’s orders. However, the lions did not harm him and from there he rose to become prime minister.

Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brother and then subsequently sold into slavery in Egypt. He was later thrown into prison, but he emerged from prison to be the second in command after Pharaoh.

“God sometimes uses hard times to draw us to himself so that we can take proper position and possession in Him,” TB Joshua said in his sermon.

“For instance, at the time Joseph had a dream for his future, he was too young to appreciate the glory that was ahead of him.

“If Joseph had become a prime minister earlier, before getting to Egypt, he would have been too inexperienced to handle (the) position. So the hard times he went through were God’s way of preserving him for the glory ahead.

“If Joseph had not been in prison, he would not have had the contact that finally linked him to the throne in Egypt. These dark periods of his life gained him the necessary experience and maturity.”

TB Joshua comforted Tsvangirai, saying he would eventually rule Zimbabwe.

However, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka told Southern Eye that his principal was in Nigeria on a political and diplomatic engagement and just took time off his schedule to attend church.

“He was in Nigeria specifically on a diplomatic and political engagement, as you know what happened to the legal route,” he said.

“This is not the first time he (Tsvangirai) has gone to church.

“This just shows you that we have a God-fearing leadership. In the next few weeks, you will see a flurry of diplomatic engagements (by the MDC-T)”.

Several MDC-T and Zanu PF top officials have been seen at TB Joshua’s sermon in Nigeria, among them Tsvangirai, Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi and Manicaland Provincial minister Christopher Mushowe.

Tsvangirai has been under internal pressure lately to quit, with MDC-T treasurer-general Roy Bennett and the party’s former Marondera legislator Ian Kay publicly calling for him to go and blaming him for the heavy defeat to Zanu PF.

But Tsvangirai has also publicly stated that he is not going anywhere, saying he was preparing for the 2018 polls. The MDC-T leader has accused Mugabe of rigging the July polls.

Tsvangirai’s bid to challenge Mugabe’s victory faltered after the courts rebuffed efforts to have him access electoral documents, forcing him to withdraw his electoral challenge. Southern Eye