“Physician heal thyself.” This is a phrase from a proverb in the Christian Bible. The moral of this phrase is to counsel that one should attend to one’s own defect rather than criticising defects in others.

A popular Zimbabwean politician evoked this phrase when he criticised famous Nigerian pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua, more widely known as TB Joshua, for failing to help his country to locate the over 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists, despite prophesying about other countries.

Tafataona Mahoso, while speaking on his weekly Africa Pride programme on Zimbabwe Television (ZTV), expressed a faux surprise that Pastor Joshua had not been able to help Nigeria in the face of the Boko Haram assault.

Said Mahoso: “This guy, TB Joshua, has proved to us that he is a fake prophet through his imported religion.”

Mahoso is a pro-Zanu PF (Zimbabwean ruling party) politician, who has reportedly benefited from a number of juicy government jobs, ostensibly for his support of the Zimbabwe government of Robert Mugabe.

Globally renowned Pastor Joshua has claimed to have correctly predicted world events in the past, including the deaths of leaders of some countries. But Mahoso blasts further: “Over the past few years he was busy prophesying about Zimbabwe and the death of other African leaders, yet he cannot do the same about his own people.

“We have always tried to warn our people not to follow these ‘prophets’, but they accuse us of being the advocates of the devil.

“How can he (Pastor Joshua) fail to prophesy what happened to the girls and where they are being held up to today?”

The fiery politician admonished Zimbabweans against flocking to Pentecostal churches, while urging them to ignore the promise of phantom riches offered by the many young and flamboyant pastors in the southern African country. He argued that it is only hard work and following laid down policy that can elevate the people from poverty.

Mahoso urged his country’s people to stop believing in what he described as foreign religions.

“We have our own religions which helped us to liberate ourselves from the whites. But soon after that we are abandoning it,” he said.

TB Joshua’s followers usually trumpet his prophesies which they claim are usually correct. Among them are prophesies about the death of an aging African dictator in 2012, and the passing of pop star Michael Jackson.

•Photo shows Pastor TB Joshua.