“God said you will die rich.” Those were the purported words Jackson Babi, a self-styled prophet, told Wilbard Shilongo to convince him to hand over his family’s life savings of N$100 000 meant to unchain them from the yoke of poverty.
He was promised the Biblical heaven on earth, it seems.
Shilongo had no reason to doubt Babi or his intentions, having known and trusted him for more than a decade, he narrates.
However, the promise has since left him and his family in a more dire situation than before.
Still, Shilongo and his family find themselves trapped in a shack in Windhoek’s Greenwell Matongo, struggling to put food on the table for his three children.
Shilongo, a former member of House of Joy Ministries, has accused the pastor and founder,
Babi, of using his position as a man of God to manipulate him into an investment that never materialised. Shilongo, who has been a barber in the capital for the past 10 years, said he joined House of Joy Ministries over a decade ago and regularly sought guidance from Babi, whom congregants referred to as “man of God”.
He has supported the church financially, attended church activities and relied on the pastor for better advice on major life decisions. “I believed him because he was my pastor. I trusted him with my spirit, family and money,” he said.
Genesis
In 2024, after years of saving, Shikongo and his wife decided to purchase a car to operate as a Yango to help uplift their household income.
Before they could do that, the couple felt that they needed God’s divine intervention.
Babi, their clergy, was the man to consult, at least the couple thought.
On 22 June 2024, Shilongo met Babi and explained his plan, including the name of the person he intended to buy the car from. That day, Shilongo remembers Babi praying for him. Thereafter, the man of the cloth allegedly saw revelations, warning him not to buy the vehicle from that dealer, claiming the person was “not good”.
“I wanted blessings before I bought the car. That is how much I trusted him,” he said. “You will die rich,” a spirited Babi apparently told his disciple. Forty-eight hours later, Babi allegedly called Shilongo with a new proposal on the table. “He told me I should rather invest the money with him, as he had a plan that would make money for us, and that by the end of 2024, I would be driving a nice car,” Shilongo said. According to Shilongo, the pastor went further, saying he himself would be driving a Range Rover and that they would “end up in Dubai”. “He told me clearly, ‘You will die a rich man’,” Shilongo said.
Babi’s assistant, identified only as Nelson Prince, allegedly contacted Shilongo to further explain the business arrangement and reassure him. Believing the venture was both legitimate and divinely guided, Shilongo agreed.
Revelations
From late June to September 2024, Shilongo transferred money to Babi in stages through eWallet, Pay-to-Cell, direct bank transfers and cash, as the pastor allegedly continued to reassure him that the investment plan was progressing.
Transaction records in the possession of New Era support Shilongo’s account, showing that the first payment was made on 22 June 2024, when he sent N$3 000 via eWallet to a number allegedly provided by Babi.
The records further indicate that on 28 June, he made two Pay-to-Cell payments of N$5 000 each. On 1 July 2024, Shilongo transferred N$60 000 from his bank account to an account he says was supplied by the pastor, followed the next day by two additional Pay-to-Cell transactions totalling N$10 000.
According to the records, Shilongo later handed over N$3 000 in cash on 20 July. Payments continued into August, including an eWallet transfer of N$1 000 on 5 August, a Pay-to-Cell payment of N$2 000 and a further N$2 000 in cash on 12 August, and another payment of N$5 000 on 15 August.
The final recorded transaction was an eWallet payment of N$4 000 on 11 September 2024.
Disappearance
After the final payment on 11 September 2024, Babi vanished into thin air, without a trace, Shilongo said. “I never saw him again. My calls were ignored, and then my number was blocked,” said Shilongo.
He later enlisted the services of a law firm and paid to open a file, despite his limited income. Shilongo said his trust in Babi was so strong that he supported him even during his imprisonment after a 2020 conviction related to rhino horn dealings.
“I visited him in prison. I helped raise money for him. I never turned my back on him,” he said.
Denial
However, Babi confirmed receiving the money from Shilongo but denied it was a scam. According to Babi, he planned to invest the funds into a supplementary juice production business. He said they agreed to jointly invest in the venture, with the products to be manufactured by him.
“The business that he and I invested in was supplements, which would be produced by me. He came to my workshop and took a box that he could sell, but he failed to sell it,” Babi said. He said the project is currently on hold because the business was not yet fully registered. “It’s not like he invested in the business and then died. You can’t get paid when the business hasn’t taken off yet,” Babi said. “The guy is just rushing. We agreed that he must be patient until everything is set up,” the man of the cloth pleaded for patience.
Babi is no stranger to controversy.
On 9 September 2022, Babi was convicted on 11 charges – all related to illegally hunting protected animals. He was sentenced to 27 years behind bars, a sentence he has since appealed. –mkambukwe@nepc.com.na