On Saturday 26 October, MatieMedia sat with a leader of Zimbabwe’s Johane Masowe Church (JMC), the group who often pray and worship at the field across Kayamandi in all white, to discuss the secrecy behind their organization. A leader of the church, who goes by the spiritual name of Thomas, indicated that white people are not allowed to join their church.
“White people are not allowed to join our church because this church was created specifically for African black people. We don’t believe in using the bible as our main guide either, because when white people colonised Africa and brought Christianity, they altered the bible to suit them. That is why we use the Holy Spirit as guidance instead,” explained Thomas.
A few men from the Johane Masowe Church gathering at the field between Kayamandi and Cloetesville, Stellenbosch just before prayer in their white garments PHOTO: Jessica Josephs
According to Scielo South Africa, their followers believe Jesus Christ was sent by God to deliver white and Jewish people, whilst their prophets, Masedza, Mudyiwa and Nhamoyebonde, were sent by God to deliver Africans.
When asked on whether those who identify as coloured could join, Thomas explained how that would be more complicated, “We would have to ask the Holy Spirit if they may join.”
Another leader of JMC, Winnie, explained the process of joining: “If you want to come and join, we firstly need to pray for you to the Holy Spirit. Then for the next three weeks you must confess your sins. After that the Holy Spirit will tell us whether you can join or not.”
Kayamandi resident, Lungelwa Mambesi Goje, explained that she always sees them at the entrance of Kayamandi but is unsure of who they are and what their practices entail.
Infographic explaining Johane Masowe church members’ uniform and prayer INFOGRAPHIC: Jessica Josephs
When asked on why many community members don’t know about them, Thomas explained that the rules of their church require no interaction with any form of media. “We are a very secretive, spiritual and sacred church so we don’t interact much with electronics or allow electronics on this ground.”
He explained that they’ve been practicing on the field opposite Kayamandi since 2015 and haven’t experienced any form of disruption since:
“At first the municipality approached us because they wanted to know exactly what we’re doing here, but once we explained that we are a Non-Profit Organisation, the municipality and Stellenbosch community has been very respectful since.”
“Sometimes there are a few drunk people that come and try to cause animosity but we just ask them to leave. People used to play soccer here too but they know now that this is holy ground to us which is also why we don’t wear shoes,” explained Thomas.
Some women from the Johane Masowe church gathering at the field between Kayamandi and Cloetesville, Stellenbosch with their children before prayer PHOTO: Jessica Josephs
Winnie also added how they’ve never had problems with anyone in the community. “The municipality are actually helpful for us as sometimes we have very big events where people come from Johannesburg and Zimbabwe. We need to tell the municipality beforehand and then we hire toilets from them for the event.”
However, Kayamandi community worker and social entrepreneur, Paul Khambule, expressed his concerns regarding their secrecy and indicated the possibility of harmful assumptions to arise:
“It is always important that any gathering or groups are also incorporated into the bigger community so that people understand who you are and those who share the same spiritual aspects can also join them and to just understand how they could contribute to the well-being of the greater community.”