Pretoria - There have been weird and wacky, and sometimes downright crazy, news items in the media this year. Not least was the surge of prophets and preachers presenting very unconventional methods.
When the craze first reared its ugly head two years ago, shocked South Africans watched as a pastor commanded his church to go out into the field and graze on grass.
Small reptiles, including snakes, were later introduced, and then hair, petrol, ants and toilet paper.
Pictures were brazenly posted on social media by the pastors and their congregants, sending shock waves through social media.
It was all for the greater good of humanity, said the young men of the cloth. It only made the people stronger in Christ and demonstrated how God lived in the ordinary person he anointed as leader.
“He commands these people through me, because he has given me the power to do what he has, and therein lies my strength,” boasted the 'snake pastor' prophet Penuel Mnguni.
His stunts varied from one end of the spectrum to the other as he traversed the city, always escaping the wrath of those who refused to tolerate them.
In his latest stunt he drove a car over congregants at a weekend conference in Mpumalanga.
The two, a man and woman, lay down on the ground covered with piece of cardboard and a light blanket, and after the car had gone over their midriffs they stood up, jumped around and praised the lord for the miracle of life.
Penuel Mnguni in his car before driving over two members of his congregation, and then reversing over them. Pictures: Facebook
This act of defiance thrust him back into the spotlight after he disappeared from Soshanguve, where his performances - which included bringing live snakes, rats and ants to feed the people - irked the community.
And, just last month, Limpopo pastor Prophet Lethebo Rabalago produced cans of insecticide from his bag of tricks and sprayed it into the faces of his followers.
Despite sparking outrage on social media and among the religiously inclined, and even those who weren’t, he said it was a sure-fire cure for all illnesses.
And, when he was reprimanded by health and other authorities, he dared them to arrest him, saying “I am already arrested in Christ so I am not afraid of the police”.
He told anyone who cared to listen that no one got hurt from his pesticides and said he obeyed only the command from above - and when it revealed a miracle to him he obeyed.
During the uproar, Tiger brands, which manufactures Doom and other pesticides, expressed its concern and said it wanted to meet the man and have a word with him about poison. The representatives were, however, unsuccessful.
Polokwane’s Prophet Rufus Phala muscled his way into the controversial spotlight when he introduced Dettol detergent to the already murky world of independent churches.
‘Prophet’ Rufus Phala made his church members drink Dettol in order to be healed. Picture: Twitter
“It is as anointed as the wine Jesus turned into water,” he said. It healed sickness and while it could be dangerous to take under normal circumstances, this time it was being given through the power of god.
He said when drunk it tasted like “pineapple juice”, adding that so powerful was his command that when one man on crutches drank it, he immediately stood up and walked.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities has had to stand by and watch helplessly, because until a complaint is laid by an affected person, they can do nothing.
The actions of these so called men of god touched the nerve of society and they had to be stopped before they really lost control, commission chairman Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said.
She told the Pretoria News that these men held the mindset of poverty in their hands, and exploited communities because of that. They had too much control over the minds and bodies of their disciples, she said.
“These people are poor. Their children are unemployed and when they have tried and failed to improve their lives, the pastor promises them miracles. He is exploiting them,” she said.
People were desperate and therefore clung to anything that promised them hope, and the danger of it all was how they could go to great lengths to please these apparent saviours.
“They must be stopped before they command people to do something disastrous; something that will shatter the country and leave many dead.”
She confided her biggest fear - the brainwashed entering malls or other crowded areas with explosives strapped to their bodies and pressing the button to kill and maim many innocent souls.
“We cannot sit by and wait for the worst to happen. This nonsense must stop now,” she said - but to a vacuum in society which leaves the men immune to prosecution unless someone who has suffered lays charges.