Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
WHAT does a self-styled Man of God from Zimbabwe have in common with a South African dance musician from Durban?
At face value, one could say there is little that these two share. One could even suggest that in their lifetimes, it is entirely possible that the two would never cross paths, let alone even interact with each other.
However, in the case of Zimbabwean prophet, Obey Tichafa Mukanhairi and South Africa’s DJ Tira, the improbable has happened. Not only do the two now know each other but their worlds, which seem so far apart, have collided, suddenly bringing them closer than they could have ever imagined.
Obey Mukanhairi
Last month, Mukanhairi, also known as Mellontik Orasi, predicated that Dr Tira, alongside fellow musician DJ Maphorisa, would meet their end in an accident.
“Two artistes who are in the track of accidents are DJ Maphorisa and DJ Tira. These people can avoid this by seeking answers from God and protection from Him without even talking to me. We pray for them,” wrote Mukanhairi on social media.
The prophecy sparked a frenzy on social media, as fans of both artistes started imagining the worst. Perhaps if it had been any other prophet, the purported impending doom of the pair could have been ignored.
However, the words of Mellontik Orasi are not to be taken lightly. Recently, the prophet has had an impressive success rate with his predictions, revealing ahead of time the deaths of AKA, Zahara, Busi Lurayi, and several other celebrities.
Last month, he even predicted that controversial Limpopo rap sensation, Shebeshxt, whose real name is Lehlogonolo Chauke, would be involved in an accident. This prediction, like many others, did tragically come true, as the rapper crushed his car and lost his nine-year-old daughter in a car accident in Polokwane in June. He survived but spent weeks in hospital.
This week, to illustrate that Mukanhairi’s prophesies no longer fall on deaf ears, DJ Tira, came out to not only speak against it but reaffirm his faith in God.
“I pray and I will continue praying as I always have. There is one God, and I trust in Him, so I won’t panic and live my life in fear. Thank you for always putting me in your prayers. I don’t take the blessing from God for granted.
I’m serving a living God. 25 years later I’m still in the music industry touring international venues,” he wrote.
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me,” he said.
DJ Tira is one of many artistes who in recent times, have had to hear news of their imminent demise uttered from the pulpit and then spread on social media.
Sandra Ndebele
In Bulawayo, musician and politician Sandra Ndebele found herself on the wrong end of a prophecy after a TikTok video from an account named “@soulhealingexperience” sent shockwaves through the internet, foretelling her untimely demise.
The prophetess spoke of a bloodbath in Zimbabwe, with countless lives set to be lost, including that of Ndebele. Despite the vision, Sandra said she was unshaken as she responded by saying “No one has the power to dictate my fate; if my time is up, so be it. But I won’t let fear dictate my life.”
In Zimbabwe and Africa at large, these prophesies have become increasingly revered, with those that make them both fired and respected for their deadly accurate foresight.
Nigerian prophet Christian Shola’s popularity soared after he predicted the death of British Monarch Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the subsequent succession of King Charles III.
In Ghana, that country’s Police Service last year issued a statement in which it warned those it referred to as “doomsday prophets” to desist from prophesying or face prosecution and a term of imprisonment of up to five years.
It reminded the Ghanaian public that “it is a crime for a person to publish or reproduce a statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace, where that person has no evidence to prove that the statement, rumour or report is true.”
So why have these prophets become increasingly popular? Nigerian-American journalist and academic Ebenezer Obadare believes that in an era in which prophets are thriving, more and more people are listening to them as they have taken the place of intellectuals who have retreated to the safe comfort of universities and lecture halls.
“. . . the ubiquitous Men of God who, as I argue in my forthcoming book on the subject, have stepped into the vacuum created by the degradation of higher education and the retreat of the intelligentsia from public life.
As yesterday’s Man of Letters has ceded his authority to today’s Man of God, informed economic forecast and political analysis have given way to pastoral prognostication. To be a respected Man of God in many parts of Africa today is to exist almost beyond law or sanction,” Obadare wrote.
His views were echoed by Bulawayo prophet Mduduzi “Black Elisha” Dube, who said his colleagues were profiteering off the shock value of predicting death. After all, a man who sees and speaks on death ahead of time cannot be accused of being a false prophet.
At a time when self-styled Men of God are mushrooming in every corner of the continent, the ability to foretell death has become a highly valued currency.
“A prophecy about the death of a person is a very big deal but nowadays people have turned it into a joke. We are in a generation in which people love attention and public stunts and unfortunately, in terms of prophesy, they do this using matters that will hurt someone else and their loved ones. My take is that if a prophet can, they must find a way to meet and talk to the subject of their prophecy before they go public with it,” he said.
In Biblical times, the likes of Jeremiah were also regarded as prophets of doom because they rarely had any positive proclamations. However, despite this, Black Elisha said even in those times, death was not something that was foretold lightly.
“It is very rare for the Lord to speak on the death of someone with a prophet. It is very rare. Even in the bible, those occasions were far and few between. When Isaiah prophesied to King Ezekiel he said ‘This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’
There were certain things that the king was supposed to do before he passed on so Isaiah was sent to speak the word to him face to face not via anyone else. The Bible says that the king leaned on the wall and prayed, reminding him of certain things that he had done,” he said.
The Man of God said he believed that his colleagues who were trafficking in the news of impending death had turned from a righteous path, as they did not take into consideration what their visions had on their subjects.
“This thing of prophesying about people’s death does not make sense to me. I can’t speak for other people but for me, I don’t think that is something that we should accept as normal.
I say this because once you prophesy the death of someone and put it out there in the public, you have already instilled fear in that person and once you have done that, the person will not be able to reason properly.
You have messed up with their capacity to think properly. Prophets must bring life to people and not death. Death is there but it should not be your strength as a prophet. Once you can only see death then it means you’re now an agent of the devil,” he said.
