From DJ to Prophet

. . . Black Cee speaks on transition

WITH his three-year-old daughter gently but firmly clasped to his left side‚ Shadrick Chauke tried to escape the raging waters of a swollen Jukskei River by climbing a tree.

But the branch he was holding on to snapped. Little Everite slipped from his grasp and was swept away by the torrent. She disappeared and I screamed to my wife and neighbours to try and save her‚ but the water was very strong and flowing very fast‚” said Chauke.

“It was raining hard and it was almost dark and neighbours were also trying to save their possessions and their lives. Nobody paid attention to what was happening to my daughter‚” he said.

Shadrick had climbed the tree to escape from the water which had engulfed his shack near the Jukskei in Alexandra‚ in northern Johannesburg‚ during flash floods on Wednesday evening. The search for Everite continued on Thursday. Acting Gauteng Premier (South Africa) Paul Mashatile visited the area and consoled “the Chauke family who lost their daughter . . . in the #flashfloods”. The City of Joburg had previously paved large sections of the river’s bank in an effort to discourage people from erecting shacks there. IT was practically at the height of his prime in the music industry when one of Bulawayo’s awardwinning tribal house music group Djembe Monks’ founding members — Black Cee (real name Ndumiso Tshuma) left the group in pursuit of his spiritual calling. His departure from the group left a lot of stones unturned with many fans yearning for an explanation. It’s been about a year since his departure from the group. After dropping his DJ and stage name — Black Cee for his spiritual christening that of being a prophet, Ndumiso Tshuma (NM) spoke to Sunday Life’s senior reporter Peter Matika (PM) about his transition — where he said God had been speaking to him and told him to leave the group i n pursuit of divine intervention.

Prophet Tshum Tshuma, now heads his own house of worship — Divine Healin Healing and Prophetic Ministry, which he says is not a church bu but a ministry.

He quoted a versev from the Bible, where he spoke of how he became a prophet and what it meant.

“In the last day days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sonss and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” — Acts 2 verse 17.

PM: It’s been a while since we neither saw nor heard about you. You practically vanished off the face of the earth; all we heard was that you had pursued your spiritual calling.

NM: To be honestho I have really been avoiding the public eye about all this but it’s about time I spoke about it. When I look ba back and see myself now, it’s like I see two different people. There is a lot that happened to me and actually is still happening.ha I did take heed to my spiritual calling, which manyma didn’t understand.

PM: Perhaps if you could take us back and tell us about your transition from being an unstoppable fun loving DJ to being a humble man of God.

NM: My story began while I was in South Africa in 2005, while I was studying law. I did another course after studying law, where I then worked for a non- government organisation — Generation X, which focused on creating awareness about HIV and Aids and also taking care of the vulnerable and those affected by the scourge. After my contract expired and I had nothing else to do I decided to take up the decks as a fulltime job, as it was just a hobby for me. After venturing into the industry and landing lucrative deals and bookings, playing for the ‘‘A’’ class of society a voice one day spoke to me telling me to pack up and go back to Zimbabwe. The same voice told me about the woman I was to marry and she is my wife today. I never paid heed to the voice and thought I was hallucinating. From about June to December of 2010 all my contracts and deals just faltered and crumbled. This is when my life took a major downturn and I lost everything. This is when I came back to Zimbabwe after my mother bought me a bus ticket.

PM: Quite an experience, so after you came back we got to know you as a DJ, did you ever have further encounters with the voice?

NM: Upon my return I met up with Father Nigel, who introduced me to Emmanuel (Rootz), whom we both shared interests in music and socially. We then formed the group Djembe Monks and later welcomed Slimza. It was a great movement; we worked with the likes of Willis and Kotso. It was then when the group began growing popular that the voice spoke to me again, telling me I would appear in newspapers. I had no idea what for because I knew no journalists and was practically just an artiste seeking to make a breakthrough.

PM: What the voice told, did it come to pass and what did you do next?

NM: Yes, on the 1st of January 2011 I was in the Press. Things went smoothly with the group, we grew and all was just fine.

It was then at my prime when we were going to perform at the Harare International Film Festival (Hifa) that the voice spoke to me again.

The voice also said the group would perform on 31 December at the Vic Falls Carnival and I wouldn’t be part of it. The voice started telling me to go to church, stop all I was doing and above all quit alcohol. I never listened and each time I would sign a contract or land a deal it would not pull through or I wouldn’t be paid. The voice spoke to me three times telling me to go to church. PM: Did you pay heed this time around? NM: Yes, I did as I thought this would be my breakthrough. While I was at church the voice gave me instructions and visions of people that were in the church that I didn’t even know. This was prophesying but I didn’t know. When the time came to speak in church I did so and they testified a few weeks later.

PM: Now that you were in transition how were you coping? As a fun lover you obviously didn’t drop it all at once?

NM: On our way to Beitbridge one time the voice spoke to me and told me to quit drinking because it wanted to use my body as a vessel. I ignored the voice because I wanted to drink. The voice also said this was to be my last. You know I did drink and I really got sick, the way I felt was awful. It didn’t feel like a hangover at all, I was really sick. From there I had so many encounters with the voice until my wife said to me maybe it was about time I pursued my calling. PM: Is that when you left the group? NM: I eventually accepted my calling and told the other guys. They were torn apart but they did say they saw it coming. After I left I spent some time in the wilderness praying and fasting, cleansing my body of all toxins. During that time, a year to be precise, God told me to host prayers by the house and it grew from just a few people to a huge gathering. The prayer sessions grew popular to the extent that I requested to use the church hall to host them but the church refused.

Instead my mother and I were kicked out and humiliated, as the church said it did not believe in prophesying. Church elders actually made an announcement in church about this and my mother and I left.

It was disheartening but because we wanted to serve the Lord we prayed and held on spiritually. This is when the voice told me that I should establish a ministry and seek guidance and prayers from PHD founder and leader Prophet Walter Magaya.

PM: So did you tell him about this when you met him?

NM: I actually didn’t know anything and thought that since the voice had said so he knew. I went to him and was prayed for like everyone else. When I returned home I was ordained in the ministry and established my own ministry. It is not a church and anyone willing to come is free, I always pray and minister to the people and tell them to go back to their churches and submit to their pastors. My job is to minister and deliver. PM: Where is your ministry situated? NM: In Cowdray Park and it has well over 2 000 congregants. They all come from different churches and ministries but because of the living word and testimonies people have told each other about my ministry.

PM: Now that you have accepted your calling and have a ministry do you still hear the voice?

NM: Now the voice speaks through me, it is God’s voice that was speaking to me all along.

PM: It was a pleasure seeing you and knowing that you are well and serving the Lord is delightful.

NM: Thank you. God bless you.