Shembe church members warned against singing ‘Ijele’ in church

By: Poelano Malema

In 2020, Khuzani Mpungose released his album, ‘Ispoki Esingafi’, which featured the hit single ‘ljele’.

The song took South Africa by storm. Currently, it has over two-million views on YouTube.

Due to its popularity, some members of the popular Shembe church found themselves singing it in church.

A video of the Shembe congregants singing the secular song, which talks about how marriage is not a prison, did its rounds on social media.

This led to one of the leaders reprimanding the congregants.

According to Daily Sun, church leader Mthandeni Mtombela told the congregants that such songs are not allowed to be sung in church.

“I’ve received many calls from people reporting that some members sang Khuzani’s song in the holy temple. Other songs are not allowd in temples and it’s written in our hymns book that we don’t add any,” said Mtombela.

He told the congregants to “stop starting war with God by breaking rules because we’ll all pay for your sins. If someone is singing Ijele, they must go that that prison”.

The church leader encouraged the members to sing songs found in their hymn books. He warned that those who continue with secular music will face action from the church.

“We have 242 hymns and are surprised members did what they did. It’s possible that it was new members who don’t understand the rules. They’re warned. Action will be taken against those who continue.”

According to several publications, Maskandi singer Khunzani is also a member of the church. He has advised his fellow congregants to listen to the leaders.

Written by: Poelano

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