Of miracle money, instant weight loss etc

Of miracle money, instant weight

loss and other later day marvels

By Moses Magadza

WINDHOEK - Wide-eyed and with her little heart pounding with excitement, a teenage girl hurried into her house from an all-night religious function in Katutura here recently.

“Daddy,” she said to her father, “you missed out! We saw miracles. Fat people were losing weight through prayer. Some people who had cell phones with flat batteries or had no credit in their cell phones suddenly realised that their batteries had been miraculously fully charged and their accounts had been credited with money and they could make even international calls.”

She was waxing lyrical about miracles, signs and wonders that were presumably performed by a visiting prophet before thousands of hopeful people in Sam Nujoma Stadium recently. However, not everyone who attended the miracle crusade was as impressed as the teenager. One man who was promised miracle cash deposits into his bank account said recently that he believed he had been misled.

“I am still waiting for my miracle. We are living in very interesting times in which we are bombarded by countless so-called miracle workers,” the bewildered man said on condition he was not named.

Are we INDEED living in times of more miracles and marvels?

Dr Ezekiel Kwembeya, founder and leader of Rest and Restoration Ministries which has its headquarters in Namibia, does not think much has changed from the Old Testament times.

Dr Ezekiel Kwembeya, founder and leader of Rest and Restoration Ministries

The only difference, he opines, is that in the past the church demonised everything to do with power and became an organisation in which people just waited to go to heaven. 

Multiple ‘power points’

“In the Old Testament power and the church, as represented by Israel, were synonymous,” he said during an interview, adding that what presents a dilemma for today’s believer is the fact that it is not only the church that can operate in power and miracles. 

“The spiritual world is a real world. You can plug into it from various power points. That’s why people need to know which ‘frequency’ they are tapping into,” he warned.

He may well be right. In the Old Testament Moses burst onto the scene and plugged into the power of God and performed miracles as God strove to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s yoke. However, the Egyptian magicians also plugged into some other powers and tried to outdo Moses. They could draw some supernatural power from somewhere and perform signs and wonders in convincing fashion.

Wheat and tares

With the average believer now seemingly at a crossroads, Kwembeya argues that signs, wonders, miracles and power should not be the determining factors in what is right and what is not right.

“You need something more substantial than that; something of substance to delineate these two. I believe that it’s the doctrine or the teaching of the word that separates what we believe and what the dark world believes.”

Elder Makenzi Mateta of Forward and Faith Ministries concurs. 

Elder Makenzi Mateta

“Every (Christian) needs to be acquainted with the Bible to be able to test, discern and actually tell false from true. Gone are the days when people couldn’t even quote a single verse; when all they knew of the Bible was what had been preached to them.”

Signs of the times?

The apparent proliferation of miracle workers including those that perform signs and wonders “just to show off” disturbs but does not surprise Mateta. 

“The Bible warns that a time will come when many people will emerge claiming to be or of Jesus Christ,” he says. 

While acknowledging that it is dangerous to prematurely judge people on the basis of the miracles they perform, Kwembeya said believers should be on the lookout for consistency in the words and deeds of people who claim to be able to perform miracles.

“The Bible says you shall know them by their fruit. A tree is known by its fruit more than by how it appears vegetatively.”

He believes that every miracle should have a message or a lesson, lest it degenerates into exhibitionism or mere brinkmanship.

“There must be an eternal principle that God wants to convey.”

Crooks in hard times

Apostle Haruna Goroh of Jesus Center

Apostle Haruna Goroh, the leader of Jesus Center Church in Katutura believes in miracles and says Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach the gospel and promised them that signs or miracles would follow “those who believe”. 

Says Goroh: “Jesus told his disciples that they would cast out demons in his name, that if they drank anything deadly or poisonous it would not hurt them, that if they laid their hands upon the sick, they would recover.” 

However, given the prevailing hard socioeconomic times, Goroh would not put it past some unscrupulous magicians “like the person who predicted the outcome during the recently-ended World Cup in Brazil” to emerge and mislead desperate people.

Stressing that Jesus never repeated the same miracle, Goroh says that some of the miracles that are either being promised or performed these days fly in the face of what the Bible teaches.

“When God created man and put him in the Garden of Eden, he did not tell him that he would eat miraculous food without working… God designed man to work … The Bible says he who does not work should not eat.” 

He reasons that the fact that God created the world through a lot of hard work over six days only to rest on the seventh day “is proof that proportionally, people should do more work than resting”. 

Goroh maintains that miracles only happen during emergencies, “when the supernatural power comes for a season to disrupt or short-circuit the flow of the natural because somebody is in danger and cannot naturally come out of that trouble.”

He said nowadays a lot of dishonest people who are driven by the desire to grow their churches and their personal bank accounts were trying all sorts of things. 

“I know that there are instances in the Bible in which people were anointed with oil. I have also done it. However, the dividing line between when it is man or God doing it is very blurred. Nevertheless, when attention shifts from God to man; when attention is no longer on Jesus but on a human being, you can be sure (that it is all fake).”

Goroh said there was nothing like miracle money. 

“Nowhere in the Bible is it said you will find money in your bank account without working for it. This is fraud and those who are claiming to be making miracle money need to be in jail. Such activities are fraudulent. If we perform those kinds of miracles, we would bring the whole workforce to a standstill; nobody would have to go to work. There is no miracle weight loss,” he said, adding that there were places in the world where some people learn “those things.”

He said there was evidence that some unscrupulous people were using magic to grow their churches.

“Because of lack of knowledge, many people can be caught up in these things. People must read the bible for themselves to find out the truth,” he said. 

While acknowledging that God can perform miracles, Goroh says people cannot live on miracles or off them. God, he said, wants things that are sustainable; things that mould character through perseverance.

His view is that there are many tricksters on the loose taking advantage of people who just want quick solutions and short cuts.

Dr Archford Musodza

Dr Archford Musodza, an expert in church history, said many of today’s so-called miracles are suspicious and self-centred.

“A cursory view of the Old and the New Testament will show that miracles were meant to bring glory to God and not self. They were meant to enhance and save life.”

Musodza said in what some scholars have called the messianic secret, Jesus never publicised the miracles that He performed, possibly to avoid drawing attention from the Kingdom and the gospel to Himself. These days the media rings with advertisements of so-called miracle workers.

“These new miracle workers are dubious, spurious gold diggers,” he said.

It seems that unless and until people acquire knowledge to be able to tell the wheat from the tares, many of them, like the excited teenage girl who believes she saw miracles, will continue to be misled.

-moses.magadza@gmail.com

Should Mandela have done more?

Should Mandela have done more?

By Moses Magadza

Windhoek (Written Dec 6, 2013) - By now word has reached even the most far-flung corners of the earth. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Founding President and world-acclaimed anti-apartheid icon, is no more. 

South African President Jacob Zuma confirmed that President Mandela, who was 95, died on Thursday evening (December 5, 2013) in Johannesburg. President Zuma hailed Mandela as South Africa’s “greatest son” and said the former President was now “resting … at peace”.

As the world’s citizens come to terms with Mandela’s passing on, focus has once again fallen onto his legacy.

There can be no denying the fact that Nelson Mandela represented the last breed of the African continent’s value-driven politicians who catalysed change in South Africa using all manner of means. Most importantly, Mandela was indeed the longest serving political prisoner on the continent in recent history. That we cannot take from him; he was an icon of resistance against oppression and racialism in any form.

In many respects Mandela was a model of reconciliation. He was in a rare class that arguably includes Namibia’s Founding President Sam Nujoma and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in terms of embracing and successfully bringing about reconciliation in an environment in which no-one would have anticipated it possible. 

Imagine someone rising in Afghanistan or in Iraq and bringing about reconciliation with the west that allows former American President George W. Bush to take a beer in Kabul without being lynched…

Viewed in this light, Mandela’s was a revolutionary form of reconciliation that he brought to bear on our accursed continent.

Mandela is to be credited, also for introducing modern era parliamentary democracy in Africa. From South Africa’s independence in 1994 it has been possible to change successive presidents without any bloodshed or any complaints from any quarter of rigging or malpractice. One can argue that by so doing, Mandela provided inspiration for both people in leadership and aspiring leaders. He served his term and left power without having to be ejected or rejected by the people. When he relinquished power, he sat back and let the new rulers run the show without interference. 

The beneficiaries from his struggles and his brand of leadership have been across the board; encompassing the young and old across gender. Mandela even allowed a discussion about gay and lesbian rights in South Africa to a point where now South Africa allows same sex marriages. To that extent Mandela was for all-inclusiveness and a plural society.

With regard to doing something for women, Mandela ensured that there was some parity and equality among the sexes. If one looks at the African National Congress (ANC) which he led, one realises that it represented women very broadly and perhaps thanks to the foundation Mandela and his administration put, women in South Africa hold very key positions in government and industry. South Africa today has one of the highest proportions of women in parliament in Africa. In terms of the cabinet, the country has a substantial number of women holding ministerial and other senior positions.

It is difficult to say what Mandela did for women in terms of economic development. However, given that the national cake in South Africa does not seem to be too male dominated, it can safely be said that Mandela tried to lay the foundation for equal access to resources in the country.

It is also hard to say at the drop of a hat what kind of laws came into effect during Nelson Mandela’s tenure and to what extent they promoted the welfare of women and children. Nevertheless, with respect to access to education, Mandela and his administration did well and today female students are well represented in the country’s institutions of higher education. This can be seen as a major achievement.

Mandela’s many positive legacies notwithstanding, some people find it ironic that with his seemingly big heart for reconciliation and forgiveness, he was unable to forgive his wife of many years and compatriot in the struggle, Winnie Mandela, for her alleged shambolic sexual behaviour. It is difficult to marry the two personas of Nelson Mandela. There is a contradiction here.

One of the things that stick out like sore thumbs as one of Mandela’s negative legacies is what can be said to be his selective amnesia. Having walked that often-cited long walk to freedom and come into power in Southern Africa’s biggest economy, he did not do what many would have expected to acknowledge in one way or the other the contribution of the many countries that were battered by pre-independent South Africa in pursuit for the independence of that country. Those countries include Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

One would have expected Mandela to have gone an extra mile in the journey that was started by another African called Dr Kwame Nkrumah who famously declared that the independence of Ghana would not be good enough unless and until the rest of Africa was independent and that Pan Africanism as an ideal was to be pursued, or words to that effect.

Accordingly, one of Nelson Mandela’s negative legacies is that South Africa is today to a large extent closed to the rest of Africa. It is more open to white people than to Africans. You are more likely to be required to produce a transit visa in Johannesburg if you are a black person from Africa than if you are coming from Washington. This is one of the legacies of Mandela that are difficult to understand.

One would have expected that Mandela would have been at the frontline of acknowledging support - through bloodshed and economic retardation - by countries that stood by South Africa in its hour of need. Until now there seems to be no plans to show any form of gratitude. The downfall of apartheid did not come merely by Mandela being in prison for 27 years. Many other people and countries – especially the Frontline States – played a major role in South Africans’ struggle.

Prior to his death, Mandela spent a long time in hospital. Few African leaders visited him or said anything substantial about his health. While this trend is difficult to read, one can put it down to respect for his privacy and acknowledging that the end was not too far for the man who once famously said that one of his greatest regrets in life is that he never became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. 

It seems heads of state and government in Africa followed the example set by America’s President Barack Obama of not being too intrusive into what was essentially a private family matter, particularly when it was common cause that Mandela was critically ill. 

While it is very difficult to judge Mandela on the basis on what he did or did not do while he was President of South Africa mainly because he got into power when EVERYTHING was being set up, the man, even in death, remains a highly polarised subject. It is possible that the debate around his legacy will rage on, even long after he has been laid to rest. –moses.magadza@gmail.com

NAMIBIA: First cancer screening facility to open

UNAM opens first cancer

facility facility in Katutura

Katutura children react on top of a platform that will house Namibia's first cancer screening facility in Hakahana.

By Moses Magadza

KATUTURA (7/23/14): The University of Namibia through its School of Medicine is setting up Namibia’s first diagnostic facility for breast cancer, cervical cancer and prostate cancer as concerns mount over the prevalence of these cancers in the country and elsewhere in the world.

UNAM officials are working around the clock to ensure that the facility, which is located in the largely informal settlement of Hakahana in Katutura and is one of several planned for different parts of the country, opens to the public soon.

This week builders were putting final touches to the facility, which already has some state of the art screening equipment. The facility comes in the wake of the African First Ladies’ 8th edition of the Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa (SCCA) conference, which was organised by the Forum of African First Ladies Against Breast & Cervical Cancer and the Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation.



DEVELOPMENT: People pose outside the first cancer screening facility being set up in Katutura in Windhoek

UNAM Vice Chancellor Prof Lazarus Hangula says the facility is part of a broader strategy by the national University to take services closer to the people. It will initially offer free walk-in screening services for the three cancers. The university will work with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Cancer Association of Namibia to do vaccination against viruses that cause cancer of the cervix.

Stressing that prevention is better than cure, Hangula expressed optimism that the new facility would bring about greater access to cancer screening services and save lives.

“The greatest challenge in dealing with cancer is to prevent it through early diagnosis. If we catch it early we can limit its spread and prolong lives,” he said in an interview.

READY: A woman next to cancer screening equipment inside the first cancer screening facility being set up in an impoverished settlement in Katutura, Windheok

Prof Peter Nyarango, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Founding Dean of the UNAM School of Medicine said UNAM would install a mammography machine, an ultrasound machine and other facilities to take digital pictures to enable diagnosis, initially for breast cancer, which kills millions of women every year in developing countries.

“A little later we will do diagnosis for other cancers. We will not be treating people at first,” Nyarango said.

With respect to breast cancer, Nyarango said UNAM was working towards using modern scientific methods to freeze cancer tumors so that they do not spread.  The university will employ a surgeon, a radiologist and a few nurses to run the Katutura screening facility. Student nurses will also be part of the team.

Expectations are that in the long run the facility would train medical students and serve qualified doctors and nurses who may require refresher courses. Nyarango said this would enable seamless roll out of screening services throughout the country. The next cancer screening facility will be in Oshakati. The process of procuring equipment for it has begun.

UNAM scientists have been conducting research around using mushrooms to prevent cancer.

Prof Philip Odonkor, the Associate Dean of the UNAM School of Medicine described the location of the screening facility in Katutura as “symbolic”.

CLOSER: A man walks towards an informal settlement in Hakahana, Katutura close to the first cancer screening facility being set up in Namibia by UNAM to take health services closer to the people.

He said apart from the fact that this would be the first such facility in Namibia, it would be located in an underprivileged community, putting paid to the global norm under which, until recently, health care has been developed around people who can afford it.

Hakahana is an impoverished informal settlement with barely running water and poor sanitary facilities. It is densely populated by people who fall into the low-income category.



Prof Philip Odonkor

Odonkor called for “education, education and education to create awareness” and said people must be assisted to know more about themselves and to determine what to do next should they detect problems.

Nyarango said the setting up of the screening facility demonstrates that the university and its School of Medicine were not “ivory towers”.

“The role of a medical school is to develop models that would help ordinary people overcome systematic limitations that jinx access to quality health care. “

With respect to prostate cancer, health experts say that every male is at risk of developing it, with the lifetime risk estimated at almost 100 percent. The risk is particularly high in there is a family history of prostate cancer. Experts recommend that every man above 35 years of age should go for regular check-up, ideally once a year.

HAPPY: A woman sits next to equipment in the first cancer screening facility being set up by UNAM in Katutura to bridge the gap between the poor and quality health services.

In a major breakthrough, medical scientists recently discovered a vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV) which protects against cervical cancer if administered to girls aged 12 to 13 years. While experts say it is effective, it is not yet widely administered.

Experts advocate that girls who have reached puberty should start going for regular check-ups for breast cancer. Some experts say that ideally, young girls should be trained to examine themselves for breast cancer symptoms.

-moses.magadza@gmail.com