Controversial South African preacher Alph Lukau now says he did not bring back to life a dead man.
Speaking to South Africa’s Power FM, Lukau said the man – alleged to have been resurrected by him – arrived at his church while breathing.
“On the 24th February toward the end of the service, I was interrupted [by a section of my congregants] that there was a person in a coffin that was brought to church. Before entering the premises of the church, the coffin began to shake, meaning the person was alive. During worship, I went down [to where the man’s coffin was kept]. I checked the casket and noticed there was activity in it. The person in it was breathing. We, thereafter, moved him to a shade,” Lukau told radio host Thabiso Tema.
Asked to explain why a healthy man would be brought to his church for spiritual healing, Lukau said: “This answer would only be given by his family members.
“He came to church while still alive. Though, his status – as alive or dead – couldn’t stop us from praying for him,” said Lukau.
Pressed to confirm or deny whether he possesses spiritual powers to bring the dead back to life, Lukau said: “No, I don’t have powers to raise the dead. I have never raised a man declared dead by the hospital.”
The preacher claims the belief — that he and the supposed dead man, identified only as Elliot, had hatched a plot to deceive people into believing in Lukau’s supernatural powers –, is baseless.
“That was the first time I saw Elliot,” said the preacher.
Asked to explain why a healthy man would be brought to his church for spiritual healing, Lukau said: “This answer would only be given by his family member.
“That was the first time I saw Elliot,” said the preacher.
And on allegations that he dragged a Johannesburg funeral home into the controversy, Lukau said: “The funeral homes had a deal with Elliot’s family and not me.”