The Lord, like the ANC, works in mysterious ways

With 10 days to go to the ANC’s conference, the “Renewables” have adopted a new strategy to try to keep Cyril Ramaphosa out of harm’s way (read parliament) and on the ballot for a second bite at the presidential cherry.

The “Ankoles” have taken another page out of the Wenzenist playbook. In addition to closing ranks around the incumbent in the national executive committee (NEC) and in parliament and sniping at members of the judiciary making findings against them, they have decided to pray for their president.

As of the beginning of the week, the comrades — or at least those in the Renewables camp — have been calling for divine intervention through WhatsApp, of course, during a presidential prayer watch — a PPW — to intercede on the head of state’s behalf.

The PPW issues what the comrades call a SPA — that’s a special prayer alert — every now and then to ask for blessings in the face of “a specific challenge” (that’s one way of putting it) “surrounding the integrity of our president”.

The PPW fired off a real biblical banger on Monday night, shortly after the president’s lawyers filed a constitutional court review of the section 89 panel’s report and the NEC decided to vote against the adoption of the report, which had been set down for Tuesday morning.

It gave thanks to the Lord for raising up an army of intercessors across our nation — that’s Gwede Mantashe, Oscar Mabuyane and Zamani Saul to those among us who don’t speak khongolese — to earnestly bring their request before His throne of grace (their usage, not mine) and in general terms.

The PPW wrapped up with a prayer for the president’s personal relationship with the Lord to deepen and for the head of state’s heart to be set on serving Christ alone — no more moonlighting as a buffalo salesperson or forex trader for Cyril, it appears — no matter what happens.

Amen.

By Tuesday morning, when the SPA landed, the prayers appeared to be working.

Not only had Ramaphosa won the backing of the NEC — and through it the caucus in the National Assembly — but parliament had also agreed to postpone the vote of the section 89 report for a week.

Barring a parliamentary revolt by the ANC’s MPs next week — and the tabling of an adverse finding against him (and Zweli Mkhize) by the ANC integrity commission paving the way for Paul Mashatile to stand unopposed for the presidency — Ramaphosa’s head appears to be off the chopping block and on the ballot at Nasrec.

Hallelujah.

Ramaphosa’s enemies in the party must be questioning their faith.

The Wenzenists have been praying for Ramaphosa’s downfall since he got the job — long before that, actually — and must be wanting their money back, in a spiritual sense, given their failure to get an actual result against the Buffalo, Phala Phala or not.

I had always wondered about the whole online intercession thing, whether it had more power than prayer in person, or less; whether the creator, like the rest of us, had migrated to the digital world, or whether they were still operating old school, like the ANC’s electoral commission, or the billing system at Ramaphosa’s game farm.

I guess we just found out. 

WhatsApp incantations may be nowhere near as impressive as having the largest church in Southern Africa hold a service in your front garden — or being publicly blessed by a flock of bishops — but it appears that every prayer, like every vote in parliament and on the conference floor, counts.

The Lord, like the ANC, works in mysterious ways.