STILL KISSING, 26 YEARS LATER

Apostle Fred Msimango kisses his wife Busi during their 26th wedding anniversary at the Divine Healing Ministries yesterday.

MANZINI – Apostle Fred Msimango, the founder of Jesus For the World Church (JFWC), celebrated 26 years of marriage to his wife Busi (nee Dludlu).

The wedding anniversary ceremony was held at the Manzini Branch of the Divine Healing Ministries church.
Bishop Nash Shongwe is head of the Divine Healing Ministries.

The couple was supposed to celebrate last year but could not do so because two of their sons were getting married.
When the couple entered the church, they were shortly followed by a bridal party which included Nonhle Mthethwa, a young gospel sensation. Born in a family of 19 in 1962, Msimango is the 15th among his siblings.
JFWC now has seven different branches while the eighth is being built.

Throngs of friends and family members travelled from South Africa and Mozambique to celebrate the anniversary.
At least 300 people attended. The ceremony depicted a wedding as it included a grand entrance of the bridal party. Bishop Stephen  Masilela, President of the Swaziland Conference of Churches, conducted the anniversary ceremony. Apostle Msimango and his wife reaffirmed the marriage vows they said when they were married 26 years ago.

They told each other they would be together until death. “Sithandwa sami. Sithandwa semphefumulo wami,” said the apostle to his wife as they said their vows. Dr Luis Maposse, a friend visiting from Mozambique, described Apostle Msimango as a man moved by the spirit of a warrior.
He said Msimango was born in a place known as Masinga in Mozambique then moved to Maputo in 1975 where he worked as a tailor.
Msimango is then said to have to later moved to Swaziland where he became involved in Christian ministry.

Maposse said the apostle had recently expanded his ministry as a preacher to Mozambique.
“A good son always returns home,” he said. Pastor Daniel Musami, from the New Life Church is South Africa, was one of the many friends who arrived for the ceremony.

Musami said he had known Msimango for at least 10 years.
The pastor said the two have worked together preaching the gospel in Brazil and the United States (US).
He commended the apostle and his wife for the work they have done in preaching the gospel in Swaziland and other countries. Munsami said Msimango should be celebrated as a man who was sent by God.

He said while many people are divorcing, the couple had maintained a the marriage for 26 years.
Munsami said many women were now behaving like men while the men were becoming more like women.
He said it was because of this reason that there were many divorces.

“In America, there are more divorces than marriages,” he said.
Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini and Paul Dlamini, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) were among invited guests but could not attend due to other national duties.
Jabulani Mabuza, Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, spoke on behalf of the PM.
He said the PM was out of the country while the DPM was attending a graduation ceremony at the Institute of Development Management (IDM).
Mabuza said the PM and DPM were committed to attending the event but could not do so because of national duties. “To show you that they were committed to being here, they also sent you a gift,” he said.

Mabuza was referring to an amount of E1 000 which he said was donated by both the PM and the DPM.
The anniversary ceremony was characterised by dance and music.
Dance groups such as Crazy Criminals and Diamonds were among the entertainers. Both groups first danced to the song; ‘When Jesus says yes,’ made popular by Nduduzo Matse. However, the dance groups danced to the version sung by American artists, Michelle Williams, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland.

The group Diamonds, was led by gospel artist Nonhle.
The girls also danced to a song titled, Mongameli by Zahara. Mashikilisane Fakudze, from the Maranatha Church, provided entertainment while he urged guests to donate towards the couple’s honeymoon. In less than five minutes, he managed to raise at least E4 000, which he counted as the guests took it forward. Fakudze introduced Minister Mabuza as ‘Buycash,’ who, he said, had a lot of money.

When he noticed that the minister was not at his seat, Fakudze spoke through the microphone, asking police officers where they had taken the minister.
When the minister returned, he asked him to donate towards the wedding anniversary event. The minister gave an undisclosed amount of money, which appeared to be folded E200 notes.

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