Yesterday he made a comeback – but his return wasn’t a success. In fact it could be described as a disaster.
HIS RECEPTION WAS A LOT HOTTER THAN HE WAS HOPING FOR.
Residents from Mmakaunyane Village, North West heard that Pastor Penuel Mnguni of the End Times Ministries had surfaced in their area from hiding.
Pastor Penuel made headlines by employing some strange practices in his church.
But this time he has made headlines that won’t make him very happy.
Angry residents held a community meeting and yesterday marched to the tent in the bushes and started attacking his congregation.
The residents took the tent apart, threw all the chairs and Bibles on it . . . and set it on fire!
Pastor Penuel became popular for making church members take off their clothes and making them eat snakes which they believed would turn into chocolate.
He said he could walk on air and walked on church members, claiming he was exorcising demons.
He made many people angry, was criticised by the SPCA and the South African Council of Churches and finally his church in Soshanguve in Tshwane was set on fire.
He started operating in a school but was chased away by worried parents.
Then he disappeared until three weeks ago when residents of Mmakaunyane went to investigate a noisy church that had appeared in the bushes.
When they discovered it was Pastor Penuel, they discussed a plan and this Sunday decided to destroy the tent, as well as everything inside. A shack that was used as a storage hut was also burnt.
Cops arrived too late to save the tent but rescued church members who had been tied up.
Resident Johanna Baloyi said the pastor and his congregation were not allowed in their area.
“How can a person eat a rat and claim it tastes like chocolate? That’s evil!”
A church member who was protecting her pastor said they have the right to attend any church they wanted. She said the rats have healed and saved them from suffering.
Daniel Malatji, owner of the land, told Daily Sun the community had no right to trespass on his land and burn down the tent.
“Who is going to pay for this?” he asked.
Community leader Shangy Mbekwa condemned the burning of the church but said they have tried to meet with the pastor.
“But he was always rude when we called. This made the community angry,” he said.
No case was opened at the time of going to press. Police at the scene said the pastor could lay charges if he wanted to.
The pastor’s old phone number no longer works and church members refused to supply his new number.
