Theologist Fabian Onyie honours Mandela at his Magaliesberg Afrika Heritage Site

Fabian Onyie with his children Favour Lerato, 8, and Mandela, 11, at his Afrika Heritage Site. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Fabian Onyie with his children Favour Lerato, 8, and Mandela, 11, at his Afrika Heritage Site. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Nov 24, 2020

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Pretoria - The man behind the story of Nelson Mandela at Theo Martin's Poort in the Magaliesberg said the project was inspired by a vision that came to him during a prayer.

Nigerian theologist Fabian Onyie did not just wake up and create his Afrika Heritage Site at the Poort. “It was a vision that came while I was at the peak of the mountain five years ago praying for good life, peace and unity.

“It was revealed to me that Nelson Mandela was not only loved in Africa and the rest of the world, but was formally accepted as the first ever political and human rights saint in the world of the departed.”

He said the vision would drive him to pick up stones, some from places Mandela visited, and build the heritage site in honour of his life.

For the last couple of years, he had spent time cleaning the site, which was visited by locals and tourists.

They all wanted to learn more about his passion to teach about Mandela and his belief that the legendary president was recognised in the after-world.

Born in 1984 in Amokwe, Nigeria, Onyie arrived in South Africa in 2007. “During the Fifa World Cup in 2010 I visited my friend, Nigerian Super Eagles player Chinedu Obasi, at the Riverside Hotel in Durban.

“Later the same day I had a spiritual encounter with the Holy Spirit in the form of light, which revealed to me that God used the body of Mandela to restore freedom to the people of South Africa, just like he used the body of Moses to restore the people of Israel.

“The spirit told me that Mandela would be honoured as a saint and God will use me as a spokesperson to his sainthood office, which would be on a mountain in the capital city.

“After so many revelations that day, the next morning I arrived in Pretoria. Honestly, it took me months to start gaining the full understanding of what I saw in Durban.

“I started going to pray on the mountain in May 2011, which I visited every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday. An Afrikaans church from the north did some interrogations psychologically and spiritually and found out that I knew what I was doing. They enrolled me on a scholarship scheme in a theology school in Joburg.

“The day Mandela died I was re-baptised in their church. However, in 2014, due to my belief and belief that God revealed to me that Mandela was honoured as the first political and human rights saint ever, they stopped me from attending the school and the work I was doing on the mountain. I then quit the church to continue with my calling.

“Then the same spirit took me to the mountain along the road now, where I met the late Samson Ngobeni, who lived at the back of the mountain. He told me that the mountain belonged to his family.

“After briefing him about my purpose he told me that he was ready to give the land to me for the purpose of having Mandela recognised as a saint.”

Pretoria News

Related Topics:

Nelson Mandela