It's been another busy week in South African entertainment with some stories we just didn't want to believe (including Johnny Clegg's death, may he rest in peace) and stories we are struggling to believe. Right now, we are about to discuss one of the latter stories...
Gospel superstar, Dr Tumi has just revealed to his followers that he turned down an incredible, multimillion-rand offer to join the Illuminati before declaring that he was already part of an even more exclusive and expensive membership group - God's children.
Please note: we are not in any way knocking Dr Tumi's incredible fellowship, nor are we shading the man's integrity. In fact, if many more leaders were able to resist the temptations of money and power, this planet would be a much better place. But while we applaud his character, we have a few questions about the story he shared on Facebook on Sunday night...
The esteemed gospel singer and man of God took to his social media to write,
"So early today they tried to recruit me to join an Illuminati society. Got told I have been noticed and would be of value. Got promised $1mil a month and great fame and influence across the globe. But we are not the type you can buy with money. wont leave Jesus for fame or fortunes. I am Already bought with the highest price when Christ gave his life for me. And it is God who will cause my name to be great. Not a society. Interesting days."
First question - Is the Illuminati real and do they operate in South Africa?
The Illuminati have been the object of modern folklore and conspiracy theories for the past few decades. What's important to note is that they did actually exist at one point in time, and they had some pretty influential members when they did. But the secret society (which operated largely in Europe and North America) was wiped out as a majority back in 1785 (over 234 years ago!).
The legend of the Illuminati has lived on and transformed over the centuries and the society has tried to make small comebacks, but in short, they've been unsuccessful.
Oh, and there are limited (if any) archives of the group operating in South Africa over the last 234 years so why would they suddenly spring up now?
"The Illuminati were wiped out," Says Chris Hodapp, author of a book on conspiracy theories. "People have tried to revive them over the years, but it's a moneymaking scheme."
It's very likely that if someone contacted Dr Tumi offering such crazy amounts of money was trying to scam the gospel star. After all, celebrities are some of the biggest targets of scams in South Africa so this wouldn't exactly be surprising.
Third Question - Could Dr Tumi be lying about all of this?
Well, we'd like to believe that he's telling the truth and that instead he simply believed the words of a hopeful scammer. Others on the timeline though are not convinced:
Twitter embed
Twitter embed
Simply put, someone in this story is just not telling the truth. As influential as Dr Tumi might be, we're surprised that he would be the first local celebrity to be approached by the Illuminati and that a group that supposedly controls the whole world wouldn't have the power to stop him from exposing them on a Facebook post.
Yeah, no. Sorry.
But then again, maybe this is what the Illuminati wants you to think...
