A South African pastor has been offering rat poison to his congregation as a test of their faith, the country's eNCA website reports.

Light Monyeki, who heads the Grace Living Hope Ministries in the capital Pretoria, says consuming the poison is meant to show that death has no power over them.

Photos on his Facebook page show him seeming to dissolve pellets of a poison used to kill rats before sipping the solution and sharing it with his church members.

Mr Monyeki is the latest preacher to be reported on involving in controversial practices.