A South African pastor has been pictured spraying members of his congregation with “Doom,” a brand insecticide spray mainly used for killing mosquito’s. According to the BBC, self-proclaimed prophet Lethebo Rabalago of the Mount Zion General Assembly in Limpopo Province has sprayed the insecticide directly into the eyes and on the body of church members, claiming that it will heal them.
A post on the church’s Facebook page attempts to explain the prophet’s controversial use of insecticides: “Doom is just a name, but when you speak to it to become a healing product, it does. People get healed and delivered through Doom.”
Rabalago has admitted to spraying the face of a woman suffering from an eye infection, insisting that she was “fine because she believed in the power of God.”
“God can use anything. God can use the mud. God can use saliva. God can even [use] poisonous things to deliver people,” he explained.
Rabalago insists that a spray of the insecticide can even heal cancer and HIV. His Doom spray anointing has received much criticism on social media:
Jesus long ago, warned us about these false prophets. What he didn’t tell us is that they’d all come from South Africa. #DoomProphet #Doom
— Seed INKorrupt (@SeedInAfrica) November 22, 2016
I’ve been waiting all my life to use this. #DOOM #doompastor #DoomProphet pic.twitter.com/g2L0jv01cd
— Thami (@Thami_Mthimcool) November 21, 2016
I have no sympathy for people who are gullible enough to believe doom has healing properties. #DOOM #DoomPastor
— Lindani (@KhuhlaseKhondlo) November 21, 2016
It breaks my heart that our people are so desperate for change, they are so easily duped. Their vulnerability used against them. 🙁 #Doom
— Boity Thulo (@Boity) November 21, 2016
A statement issued by Doom manufacturer, Tiger Brands, has described Rabalago’s practice as “alarming.”
“[We] want to make very clear that it is unsafe to spray Doom or any aerosol onto people’s faces. Doom has been formulated to kill specific insects which are detailed on the cans, and the packaging has very clear warnings which must be adhered to.”
South Africa’s Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities has announced that it is investigating reports about Rabalago’s possible violation of citizen rights and beliefs.
