A Mozambican pastor has died after fasting for 40 days trying to reach the record reached by Jesus on the biblical Mount of Olives.
The death of Francisco Barajah, the pastor and founder of the Santa Trindade Evangelical Church in the central province of Manica, was confirmed on Wednesday.
He died while being treated at hospital in Beira where he was evacuated in critical condition.
After 25 days of fasting, he had lost a lot of weight to a point where he could not stand up, bathe or walk.
Days later, at the insistence of relatives and believers, he was taken to a hospital but attempts to get him back to health were unsuccessful.
Believers at his church and his neighbours have been unsurprised at the turn of events, due to his extreme weight loss and disfigured body frame in recent days.
His relatives and church members thought it prudent to take him to the hospital for treatment as his condition kept deteriorating.
Doctors tried their best to save pastor Barajah but the damage to his health was probably beyond redemption, so he gave up the ghost.
It is reported that people who had seen his condition before he died are the least surprised because the man of God appeared seriously ill.
Relatedly, in 2019, a 46-year-old preacher died after deciding to embark on 40 days of fasting.
The Nigerian Evangelist, Chidi Eke, reportedly died while fasting for 40 days and nights in Eziala Nguru in the Ngor Okpala council area of Imo State.
He reportedly left his wife and children in Lagos and relocated to Imo State after claiming to have got a call from God asking him to go into ministry.
He successfully did 21 days out of 40-day dry fasting, but could not live to finish it.
