High noon over prophets’ registration

The stage is set for a potential Battle Royale as Government and the Apostolic Churches Councils of Zimbabwe lock horns over the issue of affiliation.

THE latter is challenging a directive by the Health and Child Care Ministry to have members of its affiliates who engage in faith healing and prophetic practice to register with State regulatory authorities.

The Health Ministry has said all prophets, and traditional and faith healers must register with the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council and get practising certificates.

The TMPC is tasked to “supervise and control the practice of traditional medical practitioners and to promote the practice of traditional medical practitioners and foster research into, and develop the knowledge of such practice”.

TPMC is created by the Traditional Medical Practitioners Act (Chapter 27:14), which says the “practice of traditional medical practitioners” covers “every act, the object of which is to treat, identify, analyse or diagnose, without the application of operative surgery, any illness of body or mind by traditional methods”.

A new entry prophet should pay an annual subscription of US$25 to the TMPC. The charge is US$15 for renewal. In the case of an institution or church, the fees are pegged at US$500 for new entries and US$250 for renewal.

Apostolic sects ACCZ president Archbishop Johannes Ndanga insists his membership will not register with the TMPC.

Speaking from Seoul, Korea, where he is on a working visit, Archbishop Ndanga told The Sunday Mail Society: ‘’It has to be put on record that traditional medicine is different from prophecy and this decision is like trying to mix oil and water.

“For a start, the core business of the church is to preach and not to heal, but this arrangement seems to seek to convert us into healers. Healing comes a distant third on our mandate and priorities list.

‘’With prophecy, for instance, God speaks to someone who is not possessed and this is in total contrast with the n’anga who is possessed with as many as seven spirits or even a mermaid. So, for purposes of interest, are they also going to regulate the Roman Catholics because they use incense?

‘’We have always argued that they want to raise money through their TMPC Act and direct it to research of their work, but we do not benefit from research as the church. If a member of the apostolic sect picks up a pebble and prays it, is there any research involved in that?

‘’If we are one as they allege, where will they be when we go to church on Sunday?’’ he questioned, further challenging the traditional healers to a ‘contest’ where they bring their spirit mediums and the church puts to test the Holy Spirit.

“It is not as if we the apostolic population is not a law-abiding lot, no. Instead, we are in the process of engaging with our parent ministry — that of Culture and Heritage — where we have held very fruitful deliberations with Minister Abedinigo Ncube for ease of conducting the business of the church.”

So do churches fall under the Health Ministry or that of Culture and Heritage?

TMPC view The TMPC says the Apostolic leader is displaying double standards as he was involved in the crafting of the law.

“The problem is that (Archbishop Ndanga) is not being honest,” said TMPC chair Sekuru Friday Chisanyu.

“Law is not crafted overnight as it requires wide consultations. His constituency participated during the crafting of the law, but now that he is having second thoughts, he wants to cause unnecessary noise.

“He is ignorant of the meaning of the said Act. Traditional symbolises black people of which we all belong to; medical are the tools which we use in healing and among them is water, minerals and any other things being used like oil. Practising means the way we are doing our things which is all tangible.”

He said the Holy Spirit was at par with ancestral spirits.

“There is no super religion and what we want to regulate is the practice because that is what is tangible. As long as there is the healing of an individual, then we have to regulate that. This is all traditional.

“This country has a Constitution which offers freedom of worship but l have not heard of freedom of healing. Never! Human life needs to have superintendents and monitors.

“By the way this is the very reason why we are having rising cases of people absconding medication after some ‘faith healing’ therefore drug resistance is now rampant,” he said.

Government position Health Deputy Minister Dr Aldrin Musiiwa said Archbishop Ndanga was misleading people and causing confusion.

“As a ministry, we are the custodians of health in Zimbabwe. In their churches, they solemnise marriages, a Home Affairs (Ministry) duty, but their pastors are accredited by the Home Affairs Ministry to become marriage officers.

“That is exactly what we are saying. Their pastors should come for accreditation so that we regulate their conduct. For your information, a lot of churches have come and it is only his church that is causing this noise.”

He rubbished claims that Government wanted to use churches to raise money for traditional medicine research.

“That is totally mischievous and what I can only say if people think they are above the law, then we have problems. He should just come and do what the law requires,” Dr Musiiwa said.

Spiritual fraud Lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange said the law required for all involved in faith and traditional healing, and prophets to be regulated.

“The law is very clear on that one and the fact that some want to say we use Holy Spirit is baseless, it is all traditional and as long as there is the healing of a person, that needs to be regulated.”

Mr Samukange said the law served to safeguard against “spiritual fraud”.

“A lot of Zimbabweans are suffering at the hands of the so-called prophets. If you look at it well, there is a lot of spiritual fraud happening and it calls for the Government to regulate these acts otherwise many prophets should be behind bars today. The only way is for TMPC to regulate their practice,” he said.

Professor of Religion at the University of Zimbabwe, Tabona Shoko, said: “First of all, African initiated churches which include independent churches and Pentecostal churches are required to register with (the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association).

“Naturally all such churches, prophets and healers should conform with TMPC’s requirements. Failure to do so creates a grey area whereby some swindle clients of money and wealth since they masquerade as genuine service providers under the guise of faith healing,” Prof Shoko said.