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STOP BEING HOOKED ON ALCOHOL, BEING ‘EMA-PHARA’

26/05/2024 16:17:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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LOBAMBA – Do away with drinking alcohol and smoking!

This is the message that was sent across by his Holiness Unyazi Lwezulu Shembe, the leader of the Nazareth Baptist Church. He further warned the youth against being on the streets doing nothing and used the term ‘ema-phara’ which refers to young men who spend days roaming aimlessly on the streets smoking drugs and become notorious robbers. “I just came here to tell the youth to wake up so that when we leave this world they can continue from where we left off. The most important message I have is that the youth must respect their parents. If they do not do that, we worry about what this world will become. Obviously one can take a horse to the water but it will not drink if it does not feel like it, but I am here today to plead with you to do things right, by waking up and get ready to take the lead,” he said. Unyazi Lwezulu issued the warning during the first Sabbath sermon of the church, which was held at the Ludzidzini Royal Residence main arena yesterday.

The leader first mentioned that he had come to encourage young people to grow and be leaders of tomorrow, something he said they could only achieve if they respected their elders. Lunyazi said the respect that was expected from young people came in many ways, but that the most important thing was listening to the rules of the families they came from. He made an example that in some families there was a rule that children should be home by 6pm. “If there is such a rule in your family, you have to respect it,” he said. He highlighted that most parents, especially mothers were suffering as they watched their children destroy their future by indulging in alcohol and engaging in other wicked things. “If a parent becomes stressed because as a child you are not showing respect, you are inviting a curse to yourself. In my country, most of the young people do not sleep. They do not respect their parents and fail to go to church and this is destroying their future and preventing them from getting blessings from God,” he said.

The Shembe leader cited a Bible verse from Ephesians 6, which calls for children to respect their parents. He highlighted that he was now old and that his wish was to leave this world having got the assurance that it was left in the capable hands of future leaders, who were respectful and not those who focused on alcohol and parties. According to the Shembe leader, his own father used to advise him that when he spent money on alcohol, it was as good as buying foolishness. “I know alcohol myself even though I do not drink it. I used to go out with the gents during my younger days and my parents would get worried as they did not like such behaviour. I learnt that alcohol kills the future,” he said. In jest he mentioned that the whites were the biggest producers of alcohol but it was rare to come across many of them destroying their future by indulging in alcohol. “We blacks are the ones who drink too much because we love things,” he said.

He then made reference to life in his own hometown-Durban, saying one cannot even walk freely after 6pm as there was always a group of young people whose lives are only about alcohol and drunks. He said the streets were filled with such young people and because they do not have money, they resort to criminal activities. “Most of them are those who did not listen to their parents. I am glad that I was able to see the capital city of Eswatini-Mbabane. The town is very clean and does not have those young men who spend their time on the streets,” he said. Again he spoke in jest saying ironically, there was no old man who lived the life of ema’phara which was a sign that it was the youth that had a problem. He then encouraged the Eswatini youth to choose the Nazareth faith because it healed. The Shembe leader said once the Eswatini youth chose to follow the Nazareth faith and became dedicated to God, they would stop being addicted to alcohol also, he said they would shy away from bad friends who always made them choose the wrong path. “As I conclude, I want to encourage the youth to wake up because as elders our hopes are on them. We have not lost hope that they can still grow and be leaders of tomorrow, so long as they take advice from their parents. The money you spend on alcohol and drugs can be used to buy food.” He said the habit of indulging in alcohol and smoking was nothing but the devil’s way of preventing the youth from succeeding in life.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s session started just after 10am, whereby the entrance to the arena was already a beehive of activity with busses dropping the congregants. The congregants walked inside the main arena and sat down while they waited for the ceremony to start. At about 10am, the members, most of who were already seated while others were still walking in, knelt down in honour and respect of their leader’s seat ‘kuhlonipha isihlalo’. This, it was gathered, was done as a way of showing respect when the leader is about to arrive. At about 10:30am, the leader alighted from a maroon RV camping truck and walked on the red carpet to his classy podium. He introduced some of the church leaders who were to share words of wisdom as part of the sermon. Some of the words of wisdom were focused of reminding the congregants about the need for sons and daughters to respect their parents.

On another note, the media was given instructions, including respecting the rule of kneeling down when the congregants were called to do so. Also, the media was reminded of taking off their shoes whenever they walked towards where the leader was. Shembe is the leader of the Nazareth Baptist Church and is considered the African Messiah by members of the church. The church, which is one of the largest in Africa, was founded by Isaiah Shembe in 1910. Members of the church believe that the founder was sent by God to restore the teachings of Moses, the prophets and Jesus. However, the title ‘Shembe’ is inherited by successors of the founder.