Mutima Walowa Uwamakumbi under scrutiny

The life of a church known for ‘sweetness’ and ‘clouds’ faces a looming ban if it fails to prove legitimate registration by Monday, according to Chief Registrar of Societies Kakoma Kanganja.
Mr Kanganja has ordered Mutima Walowa Uwamakumbi (The Sweet Heart of Nimbi and Clouds) to report to his office for verification of church registration.
In the past, there have been reports of the church forcing its flock to have sex with one another based on the fact that they probably dreamt about each other the previous night, according to a probe.
Mr Kanganja, who visited the church on Saturday, asked the church leadership to prove their registration as the original certificate of practice they had was withdrawn in 1999.
“Our records indicate that the church was under investigation on allegations of prostitution and nudity,” he said.
But the Sweet Heart of Nimbi says it has never been involved in illicit sex as accused by followers that have in the past complained about being cast into spells that made them dream of having sexual relations with each other against their will.
In a walk-in interview, church spokesperson Nkonkani (Nk) Mapaki Sampa told the Sunday Mail that as a church, they have no control over people’s dreams, adding that some members have approached the leadership seeking interpretation to ordinary dreams.
“We do have some teachings about dreams but no one has ever come to us seeking interpretation to a dream concerning sex with a fellow church members,” he said.
He said if the church was in the habit of inducing and interpreting dreams, the government would have shut it down a long time ago.
Nk Sampa said his church has one serious doctrine it follows and that is of believing in a ‘Mary Christ’, who, apparently, is the new Eve and redeemer of Africans.
“The bible talks about the old and new Adam. If there’s a new Adam, who is Jesus Christ, there must be a new Eve who is Mary Christ who is the redeemer of the Africans,” he said, without stating which version of the Bible his church follows.
And Nk Sampa said titles of their church leaders such as ababile, nkonkani, and abasha bakwa lesa, meaning slaves of God literally translated, are not strange as when translated into English they are commonly known terms.
“For instance, we have ababile which means apostles, we also have Nkonkani meaning vice and then we have abasha bakwa lesa which means slaves of God. What is weird about that? he wondered skirting away from the sex allegations.
Nk Sampa said his fellow church members, unlike other churches, sit on the floor during sermons to show humility unlike other churches, where congregants sit on chairs during prayers.
Nk Sampa also explained that his church members, as a matter of belief, do not wear shoes in church, emulating the biblical Moses, who took off his shoes when he approached the burning bush before talking to God.
He gave an example of Moslims, who he said do not enter the mosque with shoes as a sign of respect, “so why should it be sinister for us not to wear shoes in our church?”
Nk Sampa said the church is a registered entity with the Registrar of Societies and like other churches has even applied for tax exemption.
He said his church is a holy church practising godly principles adding that no-one has the right to judge them.
Weird reports of spells and orgies have, however, been escalating from some church members that have left the organisation while some of them have been proven through a sting Sunday Mail operation.
The church is located in Lusaka’s Chazanga area and has branches around the country.