A South African cleric, Prophet Rufus Phala has made his church members drink disinfectant, Dettol, in order to get healed..

Phala, a pastor with AK Spiritual Christian Church, Makgodu, Limpopo in the north eastern area of South Africa, instructed his followers to drink the disinfectant, while also acknowledging that it was dangerous to do so.

“I know Dettol is harmful, but God instructed me to use it. I was the first one to drink it,” the pastor said in a video sighted by South Africa’s Daily Sun.

He also claimed he has been getting WhatsApp messages from people who say they have been healed by obeying his command of drinking the disinfectant.

Dettol is the trade name for a line of hygiene products manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser. While the liquid antiseptic may be harmless when mixed with bath water or when cleaning a wound it is known to be dangerous for internal use.

According to “Dettol poisoning and the need for airway intervention”, an article published in the Hong Kong Medical Journal, Dettol poisoning has been reported to result in serious complications including death.

Phala’s case is coming only few weeks after one Prophet Lethebo Rabalago sprayed his congregation with Doom, a popular brand of insecticide in the country.

In 2014, Pastor Lesego Daniel of Rabboni Centre Ministries, Garankuwa, north of Pretoria was also reported to have commanded his followers to eat grass in order to get closer to God.