Pastor flaunts 'unique' wealth, calling his 'haters' Satanist and witches

By Brian Okoth (@brianokoth2)

South African-based Malawian Pastor, Hastings Salanje, of Salanje Ministries is a man of immense wealth; thanks to the top of the range motor line and lavish home that he flaunts unapologetically to the public.

The flamboyant Pastor took to his official Facebook page, Hastings Salanje, on May 27 to post photos showing what he terms ‘just 20%of what God has done to him in the last 12 months’.

In the post, he thanks ‘those who support him’ and dares his ‘haters’:

“I want to thank those people who are supporting me and my testimony, but to haters I have a reward for you. I want those people who commented wrongly on my page to show me if they have one of the cars I posted on this page to come forward and I will give 100,000 Kwacha (Sh25, 000) to the person who does that”, Pastor Hastings declared.

The offer was accompanied by conditions:

“The person must be in Malawi and a Malawian. I want you to find me three cars similar to either of the cars and I will reward you with 200, 000 Kwacha (Sh50, 000). The car must be in Malawi and with a Malawian number plate, whether it belongs to the Government, I don’t mind because you cannot allow the Government to buy that car.”

‘The man of God’ in a bid to prove he has no equal even from his fellow clergy, went ahead to make yet another offer:

“Still if you can find a Pastor who is living in a house like mine on the picture, I will give you 100, 000 Kwacha (Sh25, 000). If you don’t you are in trouble because I have testified 20% of what God has done in the past 12 months, you better unfriend me. Those S-Classes currently I have 4 of them, and this E-Class I have 2 of them, 2 Range Rovers, 2 Land Rover Discovery, just to mention a few.  Thank you,” concludes his post.

However, his message was not positively received by all readers; one Mpurofeti Oswira (on Facebook) is a disappointed recipient:

“This is not a testimony. This is boasting.  Which God are you serving? You are not even boasting about your Christian experiences.  You are bragging about your material possessions. And you wonder why people do not respect the church nowadays?  How are you any different from some rapper talking about how much bling bling he has while those around him suffer from lack of basic necessities?... While you are robbing them blind, be decent,” reads Oswira’s post.

Pastor Salanje was not taken aback by such responses; instead, he strongly retaliated on May 31:

“In this world, no normal person will ever attack a Pastor, no matter how bad the pastor is. When you see a person attacking or insulting a pastor, one thing you must know is that he/she is a Satanist or a wizard/witch… We pastors carry powers that disturb movement of witches,” reads his Facebook post in part.