Placido Hilukilwa
FAITH healers, mostly of the Pentecostal, Neo-Pentecostal, and Charismatic brand of Christianity, are mushrooming in Namibia, and the number of their supporters is equally growing rapidly, but so is the number of those who express disappointment after the promised miraculous cures failed to materialize.
A big number of pastors, prophets, and apostles have popped up in the four corners of the country, conducting their “divine calling” mostly in the poverty-stricken informal settlements, renting halls, erecting tents, or transforming houses into places of worship.
They make incessant claims about people reportedly healed of all kinds of illnesses. Even permanent disabilities are said to vanish instantly. However, concrete proof of real healing remains elusive. In fact, there are instances where claims of miraculous healing could easily be shown to be false.
Kuku GwaAmupolo’s case
Several video clips are circulating on social media of people whose eyesight was allegedly restored by an Oshakati-based prophet. Informante investigated the case of Amia GwaAmupolo, an 81-year-old resident of the Omeege village in the Oshakati East constituency. She lost her eyesight about eight years ago.
Eye specialists in Oshakati and in Windhoek declared that, due to old age, her visual impairment is permanent. She turned to faith healers who use a variety of media platforms to market themselves and their power to perform signs and wonders “in Jesus’ name.”
A video clip is circulating on social media showing a faith healer performing rituals for the restoration of elderly GwaAmupolo’s eyesight. The rituals included breathing in her face, spraying her with an unidentified substance, and, for a few seconds, placing a cloth on her face. She was then asked leading questions, a process that culminated with her admission of restoration of her eyesight. She was immediately asked to demonstrate it by, among others, walking to where the preacher was standing.
There was no healing
Informante visited GwaAmupolo’s traditional homestead a week after her alleged healing, and it was discovered that she is still visually impaired. Nothing changed. That notwithstanding, she remains hopeful. “I hope that, with more prayers, my situation would eventually improve,” she said.
On the other hand, members of her household appear to live either in fear of demons or of witchcraft. “When in the church, her eyesight is restored. But she becomes visually impaired again as soon as she reaches home. There must be something here in this house. We are contemplating bringing in clerics to conduct a prayer session,” said one of the elderly woman’s daughters.
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