Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu: The infamous pastor who allegedly sold urine as holy water
The recent activities of self-acclaimed Ghanaian evangelist, Patricia Asiedu has brought to the fore discussions about perceived charlatans who parade themselves as anointed servants of God and fleece people of their resources.
The country has since time immemorial dealt with some of these perceived impostors who used the Bible to carry out a number of activities considered immoral and illegal.
One supposed man of God who gained notoriety for defrauding and abusing his congregation was the founder of the Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu.
According to reports, the pastor who responded to the name ‘Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu’ allegedly served urine in his church as holy water and sold it to the unsuspecting members who believed that the ‘holy water’ could cure them of their diseases, financial and other issues.
Various accounts of events at the time (The late 1980s) indicate that Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu was so popular that his church premise was almost filled with expectant congregants, mostly women with cups to buy and drink his urine.
This trend continued until fate caught up with him.
The downfall of Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu:
Two factors have been ascribed as the causes of the end of the pastor. The first one, was the wokeness of the members of the church who had realized that they had been brainwashed and that the charm of the pastor was suddenly not working anymore. Reports say that some members of the church nearly lynched him one morning.
The other factor was the state crackdown on some religious institutions in June, 1989. The Provisional National Defence Council administration under late former president Jerry John Rawlings banned the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The statement of the banning of the two churches as announced by the state broadcaster reads: “Despite repeated warnings, the two sects have continued to conduct themselves in a manner which not only undermines the sovereignty of Ghana but is also not conducive to public order.”
The announcement gave no specific details of foreigners’ political intervention but said the government had canceled residence permits for foreign missionaries and other workers, as well as ordering churches to close down.
The AFP also reported that the state broadcaster announced that Nyame Sunkwa and Jesus Christ of Dzorwulu were banned by the Rawlings administration.
