Malawi: SDA church orders Karonga pastor to leave for ‘nude annointing’

Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) pastor for Karonga, MSJ Moyo, has been ordered to leave the
district immediately by the elders who have also asked SDA central leadership not to send
them another pastor who is going to disturb and destroy a steady district instead of building
Karonga District of Churches.

Moyo, who has been principal administrator of the church in Karonga since January, is said to
have been conducting “annointing ministry” to members of the church which, to the surprise of
the elders, members were being annointed whilst in their birthsuits regardless of their gender.
A letter, signed by 22 church leaders of the SDA church in Karonga, which Nyasa Times has
seen stresses the removal of Pastor Moyo from administration “to save the face of the church
and maintain its integrity and reputation as well as for his safety and security.”
Reads the letter: “As a conference [North Malawi SDA Conference], please take note that this
is a legal issue, as such he may be sued by victims of his conduct especially if this news gets
into the hands of the Women groups in Karonga who fight for the rights of women. As district
elders, we will keep monitoring the situation and update the conference where necessary. If
the conference wants to talk to the District elder’s council, that should pend for now till when
the pastor has left the district for his safety and security.”
According to reports, Moyo has since January been conducting the “annointing”right in the
Karonga central church, in the preparation room where church members were ordered not to
disclose to anyone on how the service was being conducted.

“He has been conducting this even to wives of members in the absence and acknowledgement of their husbands. Some of these wives, their marriages are in danger. Some wives have been shielded by us the elders to avoid marriage breakages once their husbands come to know about these developments,”so adds the letter.
Moyo, however, through a questioning by the elders admitted conducting the annointing saying that it “is a church system and it is written in the Ministers Bible and that even the President [of the SDA Church in North Malawi] Dr W.C Mwale and Pastor Banda, the Director also do the same.”
The two are said to have physically undressed pastor

Moyo’s sister and anointed her when she was sick. Moyo further defended that Olive oil is
medicine which pastors include him insert into ladies’ private parts who have cervical cancer.
He also said in the North, they are only three pastors who have such a gift and anoint people
in such a way and these are Dr Mwale, Pastor Banda and himself.
But the director [Pastor Banda] has refuted the allegations saying “the service of undressing
members is very strange and it is not the church system.”
“The pastor changed the statement that the president and the Director anointed his late father
and not his late sister as he said before the elder’s team who were sent to ask him. He
claimed that the sister was undressed and anointed. As we asked the Director on ‘How’
should the anointing be done? The Director explained that in the minister’s handbook is stated
that the anointing is done in the presence of elders and you apply oil on the forehead, and the
oil runs down.
“If there is need to apply the whole body, it is a man, should be anointed by fellow men. If it is
a woman, the pastor only prays and then deaconesses anoint the fellow woman in the
absentia of the pastor. But with our pastor, it was quite different. He anointed ladies himself, in
a room of just two people and touching their private parts,” reads the elders’ report.