I WASN’T AWARE OF PLANK – JEREMIAH

MBABANE – Apostle Jeremiah Dlamini says he was not aware that a plank had hit someone’s head when His Majesty King Mswati III spoke about it last Friday.

Even though he did not mention a name, the King had everyone in stitches when he made reference to an incident believed to be the one which went viral on social media a few days ago. The King was speaking during the official opening of the Mbabane Government Hospital Emergency Wing at Mandvulo Hall when he made reference to the incident. In the incident, Worship Centre Founder Apostle Justice Dlamini was seen being hit by what appeared to be a mirror mounted on a plank, while conducting a sermon live on his Facebook page. Some viewers commented about the incident while others concentrated on the message delivered by the apostle.

Incident

No one was aware that the King knew about the incident until he highlighted it at Mandvulo Hall. “Siye sifise singemakholwa nebafundisi kutsi ngabe phela bayathandaza kutsi simo sibe kahle, kepha siphindze sitsi lonanabo sihle sibabona bakwabaywa ngemaplango kubakhumbuta kutsi yeyi usakhuluma livi lenkhosi yin wena na?” the King was quoted saying in vernacular, loosely translated to; “As Christians and pastors, we wish that they pray for the situation to subside, but then again we remember that sometimes we see them being hit on the head by planks reminding them if they are still preaching the Word of God.”

Apostle Jeremiah said he laughed just as everyone in the hall when the King spoke about the plank which hit a man of God. “Sihleke sonkhe. Kuhleke indlu yonkhe futsi labanye betfu kufaka nami ekhatsi besingati kutsi lenkhulumo icondzene nabani. Ngitsite nangibukela tindzaba ku Channel YemaSwati ngabona sitfombe lapho umpostoli Justice Dlamini atsintfwa sibuko lesiseplangweni, kepha kute lengingakusho ngaloko ngoba besekwengcile,” said Apostle Jeremiah in vernacular.

This can be translated to mean; “We all laughed. In fact some of us were not aware of the incident which the King was referring to. It was after I had watched the news bulletin from Channel YemaSwati that I suspected that the King might have been referring to that particular incident. The TV station played a video clip of the apostle when hit by the plank, but I have nothing to say because it has already passed.”

However, social media users, who saw Apostle Jeremiah laughing when the King made the reference, accused him of laughing at another man of God, something they deemed unethical and unprofessional. Jeremiah also shared his understanding about the King’s message. He said in his view, the message was not meant to mock anyone, but to remind church leaders about their mandate. He said the King wanted to remind church leaders to preach the true gospel and lead the way in prayer during the ongoing political unrest in the country.

“The message was to make people understand that pastors are the ones who should be telling the people that the King is an office that should be honoured by all emaSwati. Pastors should make people understand that the King should not be respected because he has impressed them, but because he has been appointed by God to hold the office,” he said.

Jeremiah said if people failed to respect the King, they challenged the appointing authority, who he said was God. The man of God said the Bible was clear that rebelling against the King was not a good thing to do. He mentioned that the Bible also warned people against showing ambition for power, resulting in them inciting people to rebel against the King.

“God has his own way of dealing with kings if he is not happy with them. When you read the Bible, there is a story where God was angry at King Saul. God was angry so much that He sent Samuel to communicate his anger and his desire to replace King Saul with David. The people around David persuaded David to kill Saul so that he could take over as King,” he said.

Humbled

Jeremiah further mentioned that David humbled himself and continued to respect the appointing authority (God) and refused to either kill or revenge against Samuel. He said the battle lasted until Saul recognised faith in David. He said it was high time for men of God to educate and unpack the book to emaSwati. “People will be judged by this book,” he said. The apostle said what made him unique was that he did not comment or behave like other pastors when it came to serious issues affecting the nation.

He stated that he was sticking to the old gospel and doctrine. When sought for comment, Apostle Justice said: “No comment please. I did not listen to the King’s speech so I have nothing to say. I have no time for cheap talk, the country is burning.” The apostle had been asked if he agreed with those who believed the King was making reference to his incident on facebook.

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