South Africa funeral firm to sue pastor for 'resurrection stunt'
A group of funeral directors in South Africa say they will sue a self-styled prophet who claims to have resurrected a dead man.
A viral video of Pastor Alph Lukau shows him shouting "rise up" to a man laying down in a coffin who then jerks upright to cheers from worshippers.
The funeral companies say they were manipulated into being involved.
The spectacle, seen outside Pastor Lukau's church near Johannesburg, has been ridiculed and condemned by many.
"There
are no such things as miracles," the Commission for the Promotion and
Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) told South Africa's national broadcaster.
"They are made up to try to get money from the hopelessness of our people."
'Tricked' three companies
Three
funeral companies who say they were manipulated by the "scheme" are now
taking legal action for damage to their reputation.
Kingdom Blue,
Kings & Queens Funeral Services and Black Phoenix told local media
that church representatives tricked them in different ways.
"Alleged
family members of the deceased" told the Kings & Queens Funeral
Services they had had a "dispute with a different funeral service
provider".
The customers also allegedly placed "Black Phoenix
stickers on their private car" to look credible to Kings & Queens
Funeral Services when they went to hire a hearse from them.
National debate
The coffin, the funeral directors say, was acquired from Kingdom Blue.
Pastor Lukau's church, Alleluia Ministries International, has not responded to the BBC's request for comment.
The Sowetan news site reports that the church has since backtracked on its resurrection claim, saying the "dead" man was in fact "already alive" when he was brought to the premises in Kramerville.
Pastor
Lukau had only "completed a miracle that God had already started",
Alleluia International Ministries is quoted by The Sowetan as saying.
The
BBC's Milton Nkosi says the video has sparked a national debate on fake
pastors and had been widely condemned by established religious groups.
However some South Africans have taken to social media with the hashtag #ResurrectionChallenge to see the funny side.
Resurrection starter pack #ResurrectionChallenge pic.twitter.com/GqpmZijtuH— ndivhuhomutula (@NMutula) February 25, 2019
The food clearly slaps different after being resurrected.😂😂 #ResurrectionChallenge pic.twitter.com/5U4uaWiutL— Pootie Tang (@Mdudemeister) February 25, 2019
Natures even the animals are taking part #ResurrectionChallenge pic.twitter.com/gY9cr8F7D4— Stanley (@Stanleymasi) February 25, 2019
It is the latest high-profile row over religious leaders in the country who make extraordinary claims to their congregations.
Last year, a South African pastor was found guilty of assault for spraying his followers with a household insecticide which he falsely claimed could heal cancer and HIV.
BBC
No comments
Your comments and Encouragement are welcome