A spellbinding story that a young woman called Kamogelo Nkemelang tells in a five-part series of TikTok videos titled “Daddy yo o njetseng P320K” strongly suggests that a Covid-ravaged economy may have forced prosperity-gospel “daddies” to drastically reconfigure a business model that they have traditionally relied on to pick the pockets of their congregants.
A congregant at a prosperity gospel church in Gantsi, Nkemelang had just started a new job after completing her tertiary education. On learning that Nkemelang planned to open an apparel-hawking business and had applied for a credit card, Daddy offered to buy the merchandise for her as her “spiritual father.” Resultantly, Nkemelang gave Daddy her card and a shopping list. When the merchandise arrived, Nkemelang found that the purchases didn’t tally with the receipts.
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