Anointing oil stampede in Tanzania is a symptom of a larger problem in Africa
MOSHI, Tanzania — When the preacher Boniface Mwamposa poured cooking oil on the ground and challenged his faithful to run forward and step on it, hundreds surged forward. The oil had miraculous powers to heal sicknesses and deliver them from all manner of bondage and spells, he claimed.
Twenty people died in the stampede to touch it. A dozen were injured. The tragedy reflects a precarious situation not limited to Kenya. Popular pastors in many African countries amass followings by making dubious claims about their ability to deliver miracles.
Mwamposa, of Arise and Shine Ministry Tanzania, calls himself “apostle” and has a huge following. He has claimed that he has cures to incurable diseases and promised his followers immense riches.
He was arrested by Tanzanian police in Dar es Salaam, a city 540 kilometers away. President John Magufuli led the country in mourning. “I am sorry for the death of these Tanzanians,” he said.
The incident directs the spotlight to the many Pentecostal churches springing up in Africa’s cities. Mostly led by flamboyant, sharply dressed preachers who have a good knowledge of scripture, these churches are attracting many of Africa’s young professionals and nouveau riche by the hundreds, to the chagrin of the more established mainstream churches.
Observers are warning that with the economies depressed and job opportunities getting scarcer by the day, tragic events like the one in Moshi will continue.
Writing in the Tanzanian publication Citizen, Louis Kolumbia opined: “Living desperately, Africans from a number of countries tend to carry their frustrations to people who have given themselves a number of glorifying names including: ‘People of God,’ ‘Prophets,’ ‘Bishops’ and ‘Pastors,’ among others."
The frustrated individuals go there in the hope that those people do possess invisible powers to solve their economic, social and religious predicaments. The ‘People of God’ end up cashing in on people’s frustrations, leaving some of their followers poorer than they used to be while others end up dying or sustaining life-long injuries.”
Kenyan social commentator Gordon Opiyo agreed. “Anointing oil use is widely quoted in the Bible, right from Exodus to Revelation. It was mostly used at personal use, but this mass use appears to be a new invention,” he said.
The new churches attract controversy. In 2018, Nairobi’s Jesus Celebration Center, led by power couple Bishop and Reverend Alan and Kathy Kiuna, was forced to go on the defensive when Kenyans questioned what the church stands for after the leaders invited CNN newsman Richard Quest to address the congregation from the altar.
The Kiunas are no strangers to controversy. Two years ago, Rev. Kathy, who runs a women’s ministry at JCC called ‘Daughters of Zion,’ caused a national uproar when she doled out advice to single members of the ministry not to marry from the Eastlands area of Nairobi. In Kenya’s rigid social structure inherited from the British colonialists, the eastern part is considered for the low class.
After his ‘sermonette,’ Quest then interviewed Kathy (she is also a TV show host). Kenyans condemned it, considering that earlier in the week Quest had defended his same-sex attraction in a radio interview in which he asked Kenyans to support decriminalization of same-sex unions.
“I am obviously going to be advancing an agenda that says there should be at least the decriminalization of the same sexual activity. It is straightforward, and I am not gonna mess around with that one. That is obviously my belief…I live in London and New York because there are no restrictions in those cities on sexual orientations. There is nobody telling us that is wrong…that is not correct; that is against the law,” he told Capital FM.
In Tanzania, a Lutheran Church minister made international headlines when he claimed that he had discovered a miraculous herb that was treating terminal illnesses like AIDS and cancer.
This writer travelled to Loliondo, a sleepy village almost 1,000 kilomenters from Dar es Salaam where Ambilikile Masapila or Babu wa Loliondo, literally brought the world to his door step.
Each day there was what looked like a political rally as mammoth crowds converged at Masapila’s homestead to take the concoction. Helicopters landed and took off continuously throughout the day as the pastor quietly dispensed of his miracle medicine which he sold for 50 cents per mug. Some claim he made a fortune selling the drug.
In a follow-up story last year, Kenya’s Citizen TV interviewed people who had taken Masapila’s drug. All said that it did not work.
Peter Ojunga; a lecturer at Rongo University in eastern Kenya, recounted how he waited for days to get a cup of Babu’s supposed wonder drug.
“After 5 a.m. in June 2011, I joined 16 men and women… we traveled up to Loliondo,” he said. “When we arrived, there was a fleet of vehicles… the rule was take the cup within the vehicles… and once you have taken the concoction, you are healed, have faith.”
Tom Osanjo is a Nairobi-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He is a former parliamentary reporter and has covered sports, politics and more at Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.