Matsiloje: The Mecca of Spiritual Healing Church
FRANCISTOWN: In the world of religion, millions of Muslims from all the world go to Mecca, where Prophet Muhammad was born and received the first revelations from Allah (Allah is the Arabic word for God) that went on to become the Koran- the holy book read by Muslims-yearly.
On the other realm, worshippers of Zion Christian Church (ZCC) descend on Moria in South Africa to attend the Easter pilgrimage and other important church activities. In Botswana, worshipers of Spiritual Healing Church (SHC) descend on Matsiloje in the North East District of Botswana on the west bank of Ramokgwebana River, which forms part of the border with Zimbabwe, to attend the Easter Holidays.
Matsiloje is the headquarters of SHC and is where the church was founded.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and its attendant protocols that banned or limited the number of people who attended religious gatherings, all roads will once again lead to Matsiloje after two continuous years of stoppage.
The leader of SHC, Prophet Joseph Motswasele, was happy that his followers now have a chance to go and attend the Easter Holidays at Matsiloje.
“We are anticipating that thousands of our worshippers from Botswana and neighbouring countries will come to Matsiloje to observe the Easter Holidays, which are a very important event on the calendar,” said an elated Motswasele. He is optimistic that even though fewer people might go to Matsiloje after the government relaxed COVID-19 restrictions at the border, thousands of people from within and without are going to descend on Matsiloje. The SHC leader also stated that people from Namibia and South Africa have already confirmed that they will go to Matsiloje.
“As we speak now,, people from all corners of Botswana have already arrived in Matsiloje. So far 300 people have arrived since Monday and we hope the numbers to multiply before Good Friday,” Motswasele stated, adding that he saw some in social media platforms saying how elated they were to come to celebrate the Easter Holidays this year.
Motswasele said that they have urged all the members who will be attending the conference to be vaccinated in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
“We value the lives of our church members a lot, hence we always encourage them to vaccinate and observe all COVID-19 protocols that the government and other stakeholders have issued,” he elaborated. Motswasele acknowledged that during congregations like the Easter Holidays, thieves take advantage and rob people’s properties.
He, however, promised that security will he high. “Even though we did not receive any reports of crime in the past, we will be on high alert and we have engaged the police to patrol the vicinity of the church in order to prevent criminal activities,” said Motswasele. During the Easter Holidays, businesses usually make a lot of money from congregants who come to Matsiloje and this year will be no exception.