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XPost: alt.religion.christianity, soc.culture.south-africa

South Africa's 'Doom Pastor' found guilty of assault
9 February 2018

A man spraying insecticide in the face of a woman before a
congregation.

A South African self-styled prophet who sprayed his followers with the insecticide, Doom, has been found guilty of assault, local media
report.

Lethebo Rabalago - widely known as the Doom Pastor - was also found
guilty of contravening the Agricultural Stock Remedies Act, a court
ruling said.

Rabalago claims the insect repellent he used in 2016 could heal cancer
and HIV.

A sentence is yet to be handed down after the verdict by Mookgopong
Magistrates Court in Limpopo province.

Clamp-down on bogus preachers

On Friday, magistrate Frans Mahodi told the court the state had proved
its case beyond reasonable doubt that the five people who laid assault
charges were violated, South Africa's national broadcaster SABC
reports.

The magistrate said the fact that the complainants "were sprayed on
their faces with Doom makes this offence [the] worst of its kind".
He also revealed some of them had suffered "detrimental side
effects... like coughing for more than seven months" after the
incident.

Rabalago - who run the Mount Zion General Assembly - was arrested
after it emerged he had used the product to "cure" his followers of
various ailments in 2016.

The pastor claims afflicted church members have been delivered after
being sprayed with the insecticide

In photos circulating on social media, he was seen spraying the
insecticide directly into the eyes and various body parts of his
congregants.

At the time, he told the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg he had
sprayed the face of one woman because she had an eye infection and
claimed the woman was "just fine because she believed in the power of
God".

Rabalago's case had been delayed on a number of occasions, most
recently when his lawyer forgot his glasses.

South Africa has seen a wave of incidents where church members have
been subjected to unorthodox rituals which purportedly healed them of
various ailments.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43002701

The dangers of worshipping some South African preachers:

Lethebo Rabalago, Mount Zion General Assembly
Posted a photo on Facebook which showed what looked like a large
speaker on top of a person lying face-up on the ground

In another photo, he is seen sitting on the speaker while a person
remains underneath

In 2016, he is photographed spraying insecticide into the faces of his followers, saying it will heal them

Lesego Daniel, Rabboni Ministries

The self-styled prophet in Pretoria instructed members of his
congregation to drink petrol

In 2014, Facebook images on the church's website also showed his
followers eating grass and flowers on his orders

Penuel Mnguni, End Times Disciples Ministries

Dubbed "snake pastor" by local media

The 25-year-old "man of God" reportedly started his church 2014 after
training under Lesego Daniel.

In 2015, Facebook images showed the self-proclaimed prophet feeding
his members stones which he claimed to have turned into bread

That same year, other images emerged of him feeding his followers
snakes and rats, which they claimed had been turned into chocolate

He has since been chased out of the Soshanguve, north of Pretoria,
where his church was located

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43002701


--
Steve Hayes
http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
http://khanya.wordpress.com

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