Mkhemetelo Mkhatjwa known as Prophet Elijah Fire who made allegations suggesting that Swazi Observer journalist Delisa Tfwala was bribed by Apostle Justice Dlamini with E15,000.00 to scandalize him must assist us with evidence so we can publicly condemn the scribe and request the law enforcement agency to deal with her.
This Prophet should not be allowed to play mind games and undermine our intelligence by claiming that the Swazi Observer story suggesting that he defied His Majesty the King was not true when in fact he was busted by journalists of the newspaper conducting a church service with more than 50 people. The headline suggesting that ‘Prophet Elijah defied King’ was 100% accurate on the grounds that it was the King who declared the State of Emergency suspending all gatherings hence his conduct was indeed an act of defiance against the authorities.
Before we even investigate whether the journalist was bribed or not, something which needs to be dealt with if found to true, we need to ascertain if the story was accurate that this Prophet defied the King and in my opinion, it was accurate and supported by pictures.
Now, for him to defame a journalist in this manner without showing us the proof of payment that supports the bribery allegations merely because he wants to defend himself from this mess suggests that he has no regard for the media.
But the Prophet should understand that journalists are a global network and anything that touch one scribe attracts all of us particularly if the allegations might undermine the integrity of the media.
Journalists might differ in opinions and or the way they approach stories, but the mandate is to inform the public, it is protected by the Constitution.
It should be noted that the Swazi Observer published pictures of a church service conducted by the Prophet in the midst of the lockdown and he shouldn’t bring confusion and undermine the integrity of the media merely because he was against a headline suggesting that he defied the King, headlines remains the prerogative of editors not a journalist. These Prophet should not be allowed to threaten journalists and get away with it, what made them think we are afraid of exposing them?
Personally, I am against corruption in the media but will never allow Prophets whose integrity remain questionable to undermine the media, bribing a journalist remain a serious offence that should be reported to the police. The Prophet must understand that any allegation against one journalist affect all scribes and their integrity hence we need that evidence so we can deal with Tfwala and prove to the Nation that some of us are against corruption. Mkhatjwa should not rush to tell us that he works with the King, we are not interested in that ‘nonsense’ many thieves are hiding in the name of King Mswati, what we want is evidence.
Furthermore, the Prophet must produce evidence suggesting that Apostle Justice owns a snake, this is another serious allegation that should be proven. He should understand that many people are worshipping God and they would be eager to know if Justice owns a snake so they can stay away from his church. As journalists, we would be interested if the Prophet can take us into an inspection in loco so we can see the snake and take pictures, we can go there without any problem, after all we must inform the public.
In conclusion, let me warn Pastors and these Prophets not to bring confusion to this country merely because they are frustrated by losing offerings in the midst of the lockdown. As leaders, Pastors must encourage the people to stay safe from this coronavirus and wash their hands. How can a Prophet worth his salt risk people’s lives by exposing them to coronavirus and when the media expose him, he climbs the mountains with unsubstantiated allegations?.
Prophet Elijah Fire