The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Sunday Life Correspondent
FOR most men in the same ‘industry’, the norm is a lot of clapping, dancing, jumping up and down as he makes his way into any forum, flanked by bodyguards.
If he didn’t work remotely, such would be the excitement that a few of the congregants. But not this healer!
And he uses herbs! But he is NOT a traditionalist nor an inyanga and the name Prophet Thwasa Lodumo is a unique prophet when it comes to how he treats his clients. Vundla is registered as a prophet through the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe but has also embraced the use of herbs.
This particular healer claims he just needs a name and surname together with a picture on WhatsApp and boom! this Victoria Falls-based prophet can “diagnose” and tell one’s problem or misfortune.
An orphan who never knew his parents and dropped out of school while doing his Grade Seven, Prophet Thwasa Lodumo, real name Musawenkosi Vundla, has come a long way from his poor upbringing in Tsholotsho, a rural enclave in Matabeleland North to settling in Victoria Falls. Between 2009 and 2010 at age 20, he was already working part time jobs as a herd boy or farm laborer just to get by.
After his parents passed away, he was brought up by his aunt, but life was hard and he eventually ran away to Victoria Falls. But even after arriving in the Falls in 2010, life did not get better for him.
Nowadays, his Facebook page alone has thousands of devoted followers -8 800 to be exact – followers who are prepared to travel across the world to see him preach in person. He has regular visitors on Facebook page from the United States of America, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Botswana, Germany, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia and even Asia – while his WhatsApp is ever buzzing with ‘patients’ reaching out for assistance.
He has taken his healing business to social media platforms to attend to those seeking his assistance. While some people misuse social media platforms sending falsehoods, insults other violent content, Vundla has embraced the platforms for healing purposes and changing lives.
The 30-something preacher is well aware of the possibility of allegations that he could be a little more than a scam artist, but he shrugs this off.
“My work is not for everyone, it is for those who have faith,” he tells Sunday Life.
“I’m just a messenger. I help afflicted people who believe in what I do. I help those that are ill, down on their luck, family or domestic problems, struggling businesses. I can deal with curses sent by people or return to sender any evil that may be affecting my clients.
“I work mostly on social media like Facebook, WhatsApp but also do direct voice calls to deal with my clients’ problems. I prophesy live on Facebook a lot just like I have done some times on live radio. I have been working with people on these platforms for a long time,” Vundla revealed to Sunday Life.
“I started attending to clients online even before the outbreak of Covid-19 as I considered the distance that people have to travel for consultation. Before lockdown I would have about 40 clients coming to consult and that has gone down to about 30 per day. On social media I attend to an average of 70 people per day. I have drawn a timetable of days when I attend to people on Facebook and WhatsApp platforms and physical consultation.
“It works as long as the client follows instructions as explained. The challenge sometimes is network and data but I make sure I have enough data to be reachable all the time,” he said.
The Prophet joined the Seventh Day Adventists Church from early childhood until 2011 after he being to realise that there were spiritual things that were beginning to happen to him.
“I was a member of the SDA from childhood but in 2011 I stopped attending church. I had begun to notice that a lot of spiritual thigs were happening to me. In 2013, I had my first experience with my ancestors and this is when they told me that my duty in life was to heal people. From then onwards, I have never looked back,” said Prophet Lodumo.
“A vision from my ancestral spirits appeared to me instructing me to also use herbs after I had begun working as a prophet and this is different from traditional healing or ubunyanga. When a person comes to consult, I pray for them and if the solution needs traditional herbs I prescribe and administer them the same way I do with anointed water and iziwasho (concoctions used by prophets). Thwasa Lodumo doesn’t mean I am an inyanga, it’s just a trade name for people to identify me. All it means is that I use both traditional herbs and prophecy,” he explained.
Over the years, the prophet has managed build a homestead for his family in Sizinda which is about 15km from the resort town. @RealSimbaJemwa
