VIDEO: TB Joshua fires back over controversial Sierra Leone testimony

 

 

After news was widely circulated that a Sierra Leonean government official was ‘sacked’ following her testimony at T.B. Joshua’s church, the Nigerian cleric has responded by releasing a video of the lady’s controversial testimony.

 

International media outlets such as CNN reported the story of Mrs Fatmata Edna Kargbo, the Chief Protocol Officer of President Julius Maada Bio, whose testimony of ‘God’s blessings in her life’ after visiting Joshua’s church in Lagos, Nigeria, sparked public concern in Sierra Leone.

 

Kargbo was invited for questioning by the nation’s anti-corruption agency after insinuations were rife at the speed of her apparent rise in wealth.

 

However, Joshua’s television channel, Emmanuel TV, released the video of Kargbo’s actual testimony, which she shared on Sunday 21stJuly 2019.

 

According to Kargbo, after visiting The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) – “the house I constructed for 10 years without finishing – in exactly 14 years, I was able to complete it through the grace of God!”

 

This contradicts the narrative implied by most media reports that the Sierra Leonean politician amassed excessive finances within the short timeframe of her appointment as Bio’s Chief Protocol Officer in April 2018.

 

The clip released on Emmanuel TV also paints Kargbo as a patriotic figure who championed the cause of her nation during the deadly Ebola outbreak in the nation in 2014.

 

A letter from then President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma to Joshua, requesting his assistance in the nation to battle the deadly virus, is revealed, alongside a donation of $50,000 to Sierra Leone and 4,000 bottles of ‘Anointing Water’ to help curb the spread of the disease.

 

Kargbo reveals she personally received the gifts from Joshua – which were sent in a private jet chartered to the tune of $50,000 – and ensured they reached the affected areas, claiming that the regions where the ‘water’ reached were later declared Ebola free.

 

Although most media reports claimed Kargbo had been ‘sacked’ from her job, a statement from the presidential office indicated she had only been placed on leave pending the outcome of the corruption investigation.

 

Ihechukwu Njoku is a freelance Nigerian journalist

Don't Sack Any of Your Officials Based on Their Testimonies or Confessions in SCOAN

Julius Maada Bio, the president of Sierra Leone

 

It has come sadly to our notice in newspapers that the President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Julius Bio, has sacked his state chief of protocol, Edna Kargbo, following her open testimony at SCOAN Nigeria. Kargbo, like thousands of others, might have come to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos,  (SCOAN of Senior Prophet TB Joshua), testifying to the goodness of the Lord. 

 

The general public should endeavour to know that whereas such testimonies, especially given at SCOAN, are real and trustworthy and are for God's glory, they shouldn't be used to punish individuals giving the testimonies. These testimonies shouldn't also be used to arrest any of your staff members or tender as evidence in any legal proceedings. They are for the Church and where science cannot explain everything about God's interventions in our lives, miracles, or the deliverance from shackles of poverty, or the stronghold of Satan. In any case, if God has thoroughly blessed this individual there is nothing any president can do about it, except probably that the president may be inadvertently bringing himself down by refusing to accept the work of the Holy Spirit.

That as it may, it is equally necessary to educate the public about confessions and testimonies at most Living Church of Christ and at Christian gatherings such as in SCOAN Lagos or any of it's Crusades home or abroad. These testimonies and confessions are what the individuals perceive but truly couldn't explain why. As far as they are concerned it can only be by some supernatural forces working for them and not their merit. Hence kindly don't use their confessions to sack them nor use their past to punish them. Even in a multi-religious setting like in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, etc, governments shouldn't intervene in Church matters in issues like this. The government that failed by its internal intelligence mechanism shouldn't have used the Church as places it could collect negative information on its officials. It is both morally and spiritually unethical.

The public should know and appreciate that individuals that pass through SCOAN's deliverance processes usually become positively changed persons and more valued resourceful persons. They would normally be able to carry more responsibility, become my reliable, more trustworthy and more dependable. They will have an excellent spirit like was in Daniel, given to them by Jesus Christ.  It is only when these expected changes are not visible in their duties that one could question them. The Jesus Christ we meet at SCOAN, or in any living Church and some are also in Sierra Leone, is big beyond our imagination and can bless not only our sister Edna Kargbo but every Sierra Leonian with bigger testimonies.

Prof. R. A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.