Self-styled prophets con-artists: Chombo

Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo has said Zimbabweans should not believe in miraculous success being championed by some self-styled prophets, as most of them are con-artists.

Source: Self-styled prophets con-artists: Chombo – NewsDay Zimbabwe November 30, 2016

by XOLISANI NCUBE

Addressing a Press conference yesterday on the proliferation of traditional healers accused of tormenting villagers across the country under the guise of cleansing ceremonies, Chombo said religious cults were duping desperate Zimbabweans, promising them a better life — even without sweat.

“People ought to know that there is no miracle to success, they have to work hard and ensure that they eat (the fruits of their labour) and not to be told that we can make you successful overnight,” Chombo, who was flanked by Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture and Heritage minister Abednico Ncube, said.

Due to economic hardships facing the nation, desperate Zimbabweans have resorted to so-called prophets and other religious figures, exposing themselves to manipulation.

Chombo said, while the government did not regulate churches, people should engage the police whenever they felt cheated by fake preachers and self-styled traditional healers commonly known as tsikamutandas.

“We would like to warn these (tsikamutandas) to stop this behaviour of conning people of their valuables and strongly warn them that we will not sit idle and watch while they fleece the general public,” he said.

Ncube weighed in, saying people duped by either fake preachers or traditional healers, should approach chiefs and police for recourse.

Meanwhile, the government yesterday announced that it was in the process of introducing an electronic traffic management system to deal with rampant corruption and bribery along the traffic system — especially by police officers.

“The system has the capacity to monitor activities of deployed traffic personnel throughout the country in real time, detect unlicensed drivers, as well as fraudulently obtained licences,” Chombo said.