ABSTRACT
In March 2021, Tanzanian President John Magufuli passed away from what many believe was the very disease he insisted did not exist in his country: Covid-19. Magufuli was infamous for claiming that Covid-19 is “satanic” and could be defeated through prayer. Less than three months later, the Nigerian prophet T. B. Joshua – arguably the continent’s most influential charismatic Christian pastor and televangelist – also died, prompting rumors that he was murdered to prevent a Black leader from acquiring too much power. This piece describes President Magufuli’s (in)actions over Covid-19 and how he was influenced by T. B. Joshua, who claimed to have prophesized the Covid-19 pandemic and to be able to cure Covid-19 patients around the world through the (televised) power of the Holy Spirit. Both leaders galvanized widespread support which, I argue, was due to their use of “conspiracy” to reposition Africa within global power relations, recasting the continent not as a place of shadow, but as a bastion of light leading the struggle against shadows located elsewhere. It is from this perspective that we might grasp the persuasiveness of the so-called “conspiracy theories” they promoted, as well as the ones which followed in the wake of their deaths.
