Ayele Ajavon is a happy
woman, so she believes. After she was divorced by her husband, she sought
solace in the church.
''I turned to the church and found a job and a new partner,'' says
Ajavon, now a secretary in the capital Lome.
But Ajavon cannot take any step or decision without
consulting her pastor who also happens to be her ''new partner''.
And she donates part of her salary to the church, as tithe. ''I owe everything
to the pastor and the money that I give the church every month is really
nothing,'' she says.
Ajavon is not alone. Many Togolese women have been
taken for a ride by their pastors. The fledgling charismatic churches, which are
mushrooming in Togo, promise eternal life, peace of mind, happiness and
fortune.
Yet none of the women has become rich. Instead they are being stripped of their
possessions by church leaders.
''The 'Deeper Life' sect in Lome, for example, urges
women to give pastors their gold and silver jewelry, but no one knows what this
sect does with the jewelry," says Magloire Kouakouvi, a professor of philosophy at the University of Lome.
The majority of church goers are women and they are also its main victims.
''Many couples have divorced because of the constant absence of the woman, who
spends long nighttime prayer sessions rather than stay at home to take care of
her family,'' says Nadine Lawson-Hellou, a nurse.
But Lina Apedo, a
shopkeeper, disagrees. She denounces the attempt to vilify the charismatic
churches. ''It's a minor problem because it's really the churches that reunite
the couples,'' she argues.
Unfortunately, there is no statistics to back up the claims of the
church-related divorce rate in Togo.
Before 1990, most sects evolved underground when Togo was still under a
one-party system; they were frequently raided by the police. But once the
multiparty process began, especially when the banning of religious groups was
lifted, the number of sects began to proliferate.
Since 1990, the ministry of interior has recorded 500 charismatic churches in
Togo.
Very skillful at interpreting the Bible, the pastors have succeeded in
recruiting members, often women, who have financial, family and employment
problems.
The Bible and Jesus Christ stand at the centre of each sect, although each
group brings its own slight modifications to the original doctrine.
Most of the sects develop from contributions from the church members. ''Our
pastor sometimes sets a minimum of 10,000 CFA (about 17 US dollars) to give to
the church,'' says Akouvi Dogno,
a housewife.
''I just couldn't do it any longer, so I quit,'' she says.
Some sects even organise fund-raising activities.
They demand that their followers bring certain products, which they sell and
keep the money for the church.
The sects also receive donations from members or from those seeking a miracle.
''In our church, donations can come in the form of money, a car, or land on
which they can build another church; everything depends on the donor. I would
certainly give if I had the means,'' says Florence Tsikplonou,
a trader at a Lome market.
Some of the sects mix African religion with Christian practices.
Such churches exist in almost every corner of Lome.
Generally, they are located in private homes which are quickly transformed into
churches with evening prayer sessions.
The sects also exploit the airwaves, promoting their activities through
television or radio.
''People in Africa think of God as a magician. 'I want a job, I want to get
married. I'm going to pray to God so he gives me what I want'," explains Kouakouvi.
"Established churches, like Catholic and Anglican, do not engage in
miracles as the charismatic churches do,'' he says.
Catholic priest Casimir Kodo
blames the Roman church for allowing the charismatic churches to steal its
followers. ''The sects mix up nationalism with Christianity, and it's
fascinating,'' he says.
For Muslims, who make up five percent of Togo's population, the growing
charismatic churches are hardly surprising. Lome's
Grand Mosque Imam Ibrahim Sylla
says: ''The Koran predicted this situation a very long time ago and it's only
now that people are starting to realise it''.
But for followers of traditional African religions, who make up 75 of Togo's
population, these sects are nothing but ''demonic''.
"These pastors are ripping off their members and even taking other
people's wives,'' claims Augustin Assiobo,
Lome's high priest of Voodoo.
The sects make headlines in the local papers, with cases of robbery, adultery
and theft often featuring prominently. Arsene Mensah, the secretary general of an anti-AIDS group, says
some ''false pastors'' claim that they can treat HIV/AIDS. ''Through their
sermons, they rip-off sick people and their families, and they make lots of
money doing it. Often, the sick die,'' says Mensah.
''These pastors are conmen,'' says Joelle Kloutse, a student. She admits to having been robbed, with
her mother, by a pastor. ''He was a young man who put together a church in our
neighborhood and succeeded in getting us excited. After he took the money and
property from church members, he ran-off with his girlfriend to the United
States,'' she says.
But Dieudonne Alouka, who
is in charge of a sect called ''Ministry of Health'', disagrees. According to
him, the accusations are aimed at vilifying pastors' and their work.