Recall, Penuel Mnguni, the very controversial South African pastor who asked his congregation to swallow live snakes and who made rounds online 4 days ago after he came to Prophet T.B Joshua to deliver him, well he just got back in SA, and says he’s happy to talk about his visit to TB Joshua.
I am being used by God and God sees no sin in what I do, he said. TB Joshua tricked me, but I am still the snake pastor!
The Snake Pastor visited the church over the weekend and is seen in a video shown on Emmanuel TV, saying: “Pastor TB Joshua and I came to realise that what I was doing was not scriptural.”
But the Snake Pastor made a U-turn after he landed in Mzansi yesterday morning, saying he was forced to say what he said because he feared for his safety in Nigeria.
“I never knew that I was going to be forced to speak in front of people,” he said.
The pastor from End Times Ministries in Soshanguve said during his visit his belongings were taken away from him.
“Those people took my ID and passport and would not give them back until I did what they wanted me to do. I went there on an invite and I only wanted to take part in worshipping, not deliverance,” he said.
He said they had pictures showing some of his past practices at church and he had to stand in front of them.
“It was as if everything was planned before I even got there. If you listen to the video I am not the one saying those words. There is a woman next to me who is forcefully telling me what to say.”
He said he felt as if his rights were being violated. “But I stood there hopelessly because I feared a lot of things.”
The Snake Pastor made headlines in the past after he was seen feeding snakes to members of his congregation as a demonstration of the power of God.
Other things that he did included feeding a member a live rat, locking a church member in a deep freeze for more than 30 minutes and driving a car over congregants.
His practices outraged human and animal rights organisations and he was arrested for his antics.
However Kirsten Nematandani from the TB Joshua Ministries told another story.
“He just wants to continue to be controversial. You must understand going to Nigeria is not a quick decision. He had to get a visa, get on a plane and get accommodation. He was never forced to do anything,” he said.
“The pictures at the church? Who brought them? He brought them himself because he wanted to. He is an adult and he can’t be forced to do anything. The problem is he just likes to cause a scene.”