Giyani church outraged over supposed ‘rituals’ on their premises

LIMPOPO – Leaders of the Harvest Time Church in Giyani are outraged after discovering that their church premises were used to host an event where traditional healers allegedly performed rituals inside the church building.

The controversy erupted after a video circulated widely on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, showing a group of traditional healers seated in a circle singing what appeared to be part of a ritual during a uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) event.

The 01.50 clip cuts off midway, leaving viewers uncertain about what happened afterwards.

Church distances itself from MK event

In a strongly worded statement, the church leadership distanced itself from the incident, saying it was unaware that the building had been used for such activities.

“Although our church building is open for public hire and bookings, on September 20, our church building was used without the knowledge of the church leadership,” said the church in a statement signed by Apostle V V Hlongwana.

“A video clip circulating on social media has caused concern for the church. Such a ritual and activity shall never be tolerated in our church. Our church leadership does not support or promote such acts,” the statement reads.

The church further emphasised that it stood firmly by its Christian faith and would not allow its premises to be associated with what it termed “demonic activity”.

“While we appreciate that the party concerned came to address this demonic activity and apologised, we would like to reaffirm our strong objection to our church being used for rituals because we believe in the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We shall therefore continue to pray for blessings and prosperity in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ,” Apostle Hlongwana added.

Party issues public apology

Meanwhile, the MKP Limpopo has since issued a public apology, admitting that the incident was unplanned and expressing regret for the misunderstanding it caused.

“The MKP Limpopo would like to extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the leadership, congregation, and entire family of Harvest Time Church for what transpired during the Siyabalanda prayer event held on September 20,” said the party’s provincial coordinator, John Ngobeni, in a statement.

Ngobeni explained that the incident stemmed from an unapproved segment in the programme.

“During the event, an unplanned item was introduced: the welcoming of traditional healers to the podium. This particular segment was not part of the approved programme and, regrettably, created discomfort and misunderstanding within the church community.”

He clarified that no ritual or ceremony was performed and that the traditional healers had only been allowed to greet the MKP national leadership.

“Unfortunately, they had not been properly briefed about the expected protocols within the sacred space of the church, leading to the unfortunate incident,” Ngobeni said.