Panga pastor: Save us from these zealots

Panga-wielding Paseka “Pastor Mboro” Motsoeneng and Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church are both behind bars for subjecting congregants to physical and emotional abuse – but the world has not seen the last of religious cult leaders.

Mboro, allegedly accompanied by armed bodyguards and dangerously waving a panga during a stand-off with a group of teachers at Katlehong’s Matsediso Primary School, is the latest shocking episode we have seen.

As if South Africa was a banana republic with no rule of law and constitution, Mboro’s actions should serve as a case study on how not to use the bible to justify what is an affront to societal values.

ALSO READ: Pastor Mboro’s church in Katlehong set on fire by angry community [VIDEO]

Typical of a religious zealot, it came as no surprise when Mboro, whose video went live on social media, quoted a biblical verse to justify what many viewed as an act of terror.

During apartheid, biblical verses were used to justify racism and separate development.

Among many of the verses I found was Luke 22:36-38, on Jesus instructing his disciples to buy swords.

So, Mboro saw nothing sinister in subjecting unarmed teachers and pupils to the trauma of coming face-to-face with a monster disguised as a “pastor”.

Despite the incident – and calls for the law to take its course, despite the man’s profile – Mboro’s disciples will continue to follow their charismatic “messiah”.

This is due to a religious cult having several characteristics, which include authoritarian leadership, exclusive claims, isolationism, mind control, emotional manipulation, financial exploitation, secretive practices, suppression of dissent, salvationist beliefs, lack of accountability and emotional dependence.

Like many cult leaders living a flashy lifestyle, the controversial Mboro – leader of the Incredible Happenings Ministries – is known for having made outrageous claims and performed bizarre rituals like asking congregants to bring their underwear and blood-stained pads to church for cleansing and prayer.

ALSO READ: Pastor Mboro to remain behind bars as family member speaks about conflict

Mboro also claimed to possess powers to raise people from the dead and demanded absolute obedience from his congregants.

How different is the Mboro practice compared to Mackenzie and others?

If the 1978 US case of Jim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple, who led a mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, is anything to go by, people will continue to sheepishly follow cult leaders.

Other zealots sharing a common trait, included American David Koresh, Japan’s Shoko Asahara and India’s Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

In a constitutional democracy like South Africa, nobody is above the law, regardless of standing in society.

ALSO READ: Gwarube urges police to investigate Mboro’s panga incident while Sadtu condemns it

Former US president Barack Obama’s famous quote becomes relevant in times like this, reminding us who we are.

“We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of others better,” said Obama.

Another former US president, Theodore Roosevelt, put it like this: “No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.”

With new religious cult leaders emerging and spreading their gospel like wildfire to gullible congregants, it is time for organisations like the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission to delve deeper into questionable practices in what we call places of worship – lest the people continue to eat grass, drink petrol and paraffin.

The Mboro spectre, currently before the court, is much bigger, requiring a more vigilant society.