HARARE sangoma Sekuru Tasvo has angered the Christian community by equating spirit mediums to the Holy Spirit.
They have described his stunning claims as an evil gospel and an attack on the Body of Christ.
Apostle Stephen Mangwanya, of the New United Apostolic Faith Church, said probation may have ended for Sekuru Tasvo, when he quit as a church minister, to cavort with spirit mediums.
He said Sekuru Tasvo had attacked ministers of religion and the church, as the Body of Christ, by equating the Holy Spirit to spirit mediums.
“The Holy Spirit is alive and was used in creating the heavens and the earth, and is still active in complementing God’s love for mankind and nature.
“Spirit mediums are spirits of the dead that include Sekuru Tasvo’s ancestors, who he believes give him power to help people with charms and herbs.
“We cannot equate the living and the dead,” said Apostle Mangwanya.
He added: “Prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit and if Sekuru Tasvo was once a prophet, as he claims, then he should know that.
“We cannot be fooled by fallen angels which use these people to deceive others from believing in the living God.
“Mweya waMwari mweya wehunhu wakasiyana nemweya wekuporofita kwaanoreva kuti akaita akasawana nguva yekudzidza kusvikira adhonzerwa kumasvikiro nevakamurasa.”
He urged Sekuru Tasvo to repent and stop deceiving desperate people by giving them temporary things.
Apostle Benjamin Murata, of the New Life Pentecost Church, urged Sekuru Tasvo not to attack Christians, for the sake of winning clients.
“Sekuru avo kana pane varikuvatenda ngavaite zvinhu zvavo vasinga mhure mweya mutsvene nekuti vakarega kunamata Mwari.
“How do we know that he was being used by the Holy Spirit when he was prophesying at his church?
“We are not sure if his spirit was tested at the time he claims to have been used by the Holy Spirit as a prophet.
“If he wants to confess about what led him to turn his back on Christianity, he must be open instead of claiming that spirit mediums are equal to the Holy Spirit. Mweya mutsvene munhu, asi svikiro mweya wemunhu akafa saka ngavasataura zveshoko ravasina kudzidziswa,” said Apostle Murata.
Tabernacles of Grace Ministries evangelist Paddington Japajapa, quoted a number of Scriptures from the Bible, which warn people about following spirit mediums.
“We have a number of people in the Bible and some locals whose life ended in a miserable way for following sangomas,” said Evangelist Japajapa.
“We have a number of people who committed suicide after realising that the sangomas they consulted died and they are unable to return things they had given them.
“A number of people fall prey to such sangomas in search of wealth and that desperation made them accept dangerous charms that destroyed their families.
“I urge people to use their hands to work in order to prosper.
“Believe in what God says in scripture, and not pay attention to people like Sekuru Tasvo, who openly disclosed that he failed in his Christian walk. Sekuru Tasvo cannot compare the Holy Spirit with spirit mediums, it’s blasphemous. He cannot fly as he claims, but it is just a way of fooling people that want to get rich quickly without working.”
He added: “Those being used by Sekuru Tasvo will remain poor.
“Kune avo varikuenda kunopa svikiro mari yekuti vawane mari, mari dzenyu idzodzo ndidzo dzaanoshandisa kukweva mari yenyu yose mosara muchichema nekuti zvemasvikiro zvinepazvinogumira,” said Evangelist Japajapa.
Sekuru Tasvo claimed that spirit mediums are similar to the Holy Spirit in the Christian faith.
Sekuru Tasvo, whose real name is Gift Muzanenhamo, said this in a wide-ranging interview with H-Metro at his shrine on Tuesday.
He has been attracting huge numbers, in terms of the people, who are attending his shrine.
Reports claim some now spend about a week, after booking, before they can see him.
He claimed he used to heal the sick using traditional herbs when he was a prophet before he turned to traditional healing.
Sekuru Tasvo also claimed he had helped some church leaders possess unquestionable powers in their denominations.
“I received supernatural powers at the age of 15 and became a powerful prophet,” said Sekuru Tasvo.
“I would use traditional herbs in healing church members and other people.
“The power I was using is the one named in the Bible as the Holy Spirit.
“Handiti munoti muzita raBaba reMwanakomana nereMweya Mutsvene pakunamata.
“That Holy Spirit is not different from the spirit medium that possesses me and which used to possess me in my days as a Christian.
“I turned to traditional healing at the age of 25 after I got sick and my parents put some beads on my leg.
“It became clear that my ancestors wanted me to work as a traditional healer and not as a prophet.
“I miraculously disappeared from my parents and was taken to Zambia by the spirits where I stayed underwater and returned with super natural powers,” said Sekuru Tasvo.
He was born in Zvimba and claims to have powers to fly to Zambia in the spiritual realm to get charms to cure different ailments and remove goblins.
“We have weak local herbs and I have to fly to Zambia, where my ancestors originate from, for the herbs I use.
— HMetro
