Pastor Lesego Daniel, of Rabboni Centre Ministries, convinced his congregation to eat grass to “be closer to God”. After being told that, dozens of his followers immediately dropped to the floor to eat the grass at his ministry in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria. He is said to have claimed that, humans can eat anything to feed their bodies and survive on whatever they choose to eat.
A 21-year-old law student and follower of Pastor Daniel, states that she had been battling a sore throat for more than a year, but it healed after she ate the grass. She states the following, “Yes, we eat grass and we’re proud of it because it demonstrates that, with God’s power, we can do anything.”
In addition, Doreen Kgatle, 27, of Ga-rankuwa, suffered a stroke two years ago. She states the following, “I could not walk but soon after eating the grass, as the pastor had ordered, I started gaining strength and an hour later I could walk again.”
The controversy stirred, when Rabboni Centre Ministries posted pictures on their Facebook page, of followers eating the grass, as Pastor Daniel walked by them as they spread out on the floor. One outraged commentator said “it is like a scene in a movie… This cannot be real. God created animals to chew grass and made human beings to dominate over animals. Any person who reduces human beings to animals is definitely not God.”
The Daily Mail Reports that the pastor kicks and steps on people as they are eating, and he orders other congregants to slap and trample on them.
Although Daniel has not responded to the backlash over the past week. His last post on Facebook was, “God is a work and his people are testifying right now… You have been given grace to fast in the Spirit. It’s not by might nor by your own power but by the Spirit of God.”