Pastor Alph Lukau during a healing session at a hospital. Image: Nhlakanipho Sithole/Facebook.
Pastor Alph Lukau from the Alleluia International Ministries may have bitten off more than he could chew when he performed a “miracle”, resurrecting a man inside his church.
The stunt with the man identified as Elliot caused much of the country to raise a wary eyebrow on Sunday.
Alleluia International Ministries now claims the man was actually alive when his body arrived at the church in Kramerville in Sandton.
The ministry claimed Lukau only completed a miracle that God had already started, according to The Sowetan.
Pressure has mounted against the ministry, as three funeral parlours reported the church to police on Monday.
Prince Mafu, a representative speaking on behalf of the Kings and Queens, Black Phoenix, and Kingdom Blue funeral parlours, said the parlours had been duped through various forms of misrepresentation to suit a particular outcome. He confirmed the matter was reported to the Jeppe police station on Monday and the parlours were considering a civil claim against the church for damaging their brands.
Church minister Busi Gaca and pastor Rochelle Kombou spoke of how the hearse driver had run away in fear after hearing rattling noises coming from inside the coffin.
The ministry now risks questions surfacing as to why Lukau told congregants that the man had died on Friday if Elliot was clearly breathing during the church service. In a video, the pastor can be seen laying his hands on Elliot’s stomach before he rises dramatically, gasping for air.
Lukau then continues speaking in tongues.
“Can you see what happened? This man died since Friday, he was in the mortuary,” he told cheering congregants. “This is a sign that no matter what the devil’s done, it is over. Devil, I told you, wherever I find you, I will kick you.”
He has since faced accusations of fraud, with funeral parlours denying the man’s body was ever in their care or that he’d ever even been dead to begin with.
He has also faced a backlash on social media.
Social media detectives have been busy after footage of the “resurrection” trended this week. Images of pastor Lukau healing patients at a hospital have also surfaced. The interesting thing about the images is that the recently resurrected Elliot has an uncanny resemblance to one of Lukau’s cameramen, and social media appears to believe that it is, in fact, the same person.
(Compiled by Gopolang Chawane)
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