It was a mood of mixed feelings on Friday at the Synagogue Church of All Nations as members and well‑wishers from around the world paid respects to founder Temitope Joshua, who died on June 5, 2021.
The remembrance, “Rejoicing with the saints: Prophet T.B Joshua – 5 years in glory”, was held at the church headquarters in Ikotun‑Egbe, Lagos. Veteran actor Femi Branch and Ghanaian media personality Saraphine Dogbey hosted the event.
The crowd wasn’t as big as in Mr Joshua’s heyday, but the main auditorium was full and others watched on screens elsewhere in the compound. Locals and internationals — both at the venue and online — shared personal memories of the cleric.
A king in Malawi, Willard Mswati Gomani, said Mr Joshua prophesied he would marry a non‑Malawian, which came true when he wed a South African. He also praised the cleric’s teachings on anger management:
“One of the conversations we had in his office in 2012, he hinted and said, ‘Don’t worry about Malawian women, there’s no woman there for you. He hinted about my marriage, that if I have a girlfriend in Malawi, we’re just wasting each other’s time. As I speak today, I wake up every morning to my testimony. My wife right there, Inkosikazikulu, is South African, we met in South Africa.
“I use to be always filled with so much anger. His teachings on controlling your temper, not keeping grudges, not being offended, have helped me so much, even in my role. I’ve learnt to control myself, to maintain and always know that God has everything under control. I’m so thankful for how the man of God, not only about teaching us on spirituality, but also on our physical being.”
Another devotee, Katerina from Czechoslovakia, spoke from London about her mother’s healing:
“He has very much impacted my family and spiritual life. Ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. It started with ovarian cancer and spread all over her body. The doctor said go and prepare a funeral. I left her at home and went to Prophet Joshua, with her picture in my hand. He took the picture and said ‘it is well’, and blessed my handkerchief. When I travelled back to my mother in Slovakia, she was using the handkerchief and after three months, they declared that her body is completely healed.
“I had the privilege to know Prophet T.B Joshua who was humble. Everything was biblical, the healing, deliverance, charity. He’s a man of God I can’t forget. The simple teachings of Prophet T.B Joshua on biblical basics, if we put into our lives, we’ll see changes. We know him as a prophet of love; he was glowing with love towards others. He sits with beggars and he sits with presidents. He was there for everyone. I’m rejoicing with Prophet T.B Joshua because he is in heaven.”
Long‑time member Mama Akinola recalled shock on hearing the news: “People who revealed the news to me took time to decide how to tell me. Eventually, when they told me, I was shocked. Minutes later, I started coming back to reality that Prophet T.B Joshua is gone.”
Other speakers included Colonel Wilson Vergara Cetina (head of security, mayor’s office of Engativa, Bogotá), Pastor Robert Acosta (Argentina), Lieutenant Colonel Melo (Dominican Republic) and others.
Mr Joshua’s leadership carried many controversies and allegations — from unverified claims of fake miracles and fetish powers to sexual assault and having children outside marriage — largely unproven. The most notable incident before his death was the September 12, 2014 collapse of a guesthouse on church premises that killed 116 people.
After his death, his wife Evelyn Joshua was named Senior Pastor and President of Emmanuel TV in September 2021, following a Federal High Court ruling that affirmed her as a trustee and leader. The church had been closed for 21 months amid the leadership tussle and the COVID‑19 pandemic, and officially reopened for Sunday services on December 5, 2021.
