MIDDELBURG – A Mpumalanga businessman claims he died and returned to life to share his otherworldly experience.
He attributes his resurrection to a divine encounter with God.
Success Moripa has become synonymous with generosity, as he’s known for selflessly assisting the poor and those in need.
However, few are aware that Mnaka, as he’s affectionately known, has recently faced life-threatening challenges, underscoring the saying, ‘when days are dark, friends are few’.
He has authored a book titled “God’s Favourite Vessel: A Memoir,” detailing how his encounter with God helped him survive a debilitating stroke while on the brink of financial ruin.
Success Moripa co-founded the Middelburg-based Hlagisa Coal Mining and Moripe Group of Companies.
Since its establishment in 2012, the mine has been more renowned for its charitable and philanthropic initiatives than for coal mining.
One of his most notable acts of social responsibility was building and fully furnishing a house for GBV victim Khanyisile Masina from Betty’s Goed near Dundonald in Mpumalanga. Khanyisile and her son suffered brutal attacks by her ex-boyfriend, resulting in her losing an arm and her son losing an eye.
Last year, while dealing with a family matter in the lowveld, Moripa suffered a severe stroke that left him hospitalised for over a week.
Doctors pronounced him dead, and it was during this time that he had a divine encounter.
“I know many find it hard to believe, but while lying lifeless in that hospital bed, God appeared to me,” he recalls. “The grey-bearded man in a snow-white gown showed me a scripture from the holy book, 2 Chronicles 30:8, which reads, ‘Do not be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you’.”
Moripa interpreted this as a call to submit to the Almighty and dedicate himself to honouring His name.
Shortly after submission, he was returned to his body, surprising the doctors who had already declared him deceased. Moripa has since been wheelchair-bound.
“While the book primarily focuses on my encounter with God, I also delve into my formative years, including leaving home at just 16,” he shares. “I survived on the kindness of strangers, became a teacher, and eventually a mining magnate. Looking back, I realise I’ve led a charmed life, with God guiding me every step of the way.”
