Tsotsis are not driven by moral justification or logical reasoning whenever they execute their acts of violence.
This time, they have outdone themselves. Just when you think they have mastered the art of car hijacking, bombing ATMs and robbing cash-in-transit vehicles on the highways and byways, they seem to have upped the ante in implementing their dastardly deeds.
Thieves now regard church buildings and worshippers as “soft targets”. Now, their modus operandi includes attending church services posing as worshippers and then pulling out firearms, to the shock and horror of those attending.
They demand money – because they had a tip-off that there was a Thanksgiving Day the past week in the church. They ransack the house of the Lord, take TV sets, laptops, music equipment, wedding rings of the worshippers, cellphones, jewellery and wallets and make a run for it. Some cases end up in assault, kidnapping and murder. This has left many congregants traumatised.
Church gatherings are seen as “easy targets” by izigebengu because congregants focus entirely on worshipping. The faithful regard church buildings as sacrosanct and tithe in cash. Getting attacked is the last thing on their minds.
In one horrific incident, a church elder was taken hostage and released later after a ransom was paid. In another, tsotsis were frustrated by the low amount of the loot they got and decided to shoot church attendees. This resulted in the death of one church member.
These incidents have been recorded in and around Boksburg, Rosettenville and Doornfontein in Gauteng.
The recent murder of Pastor Dwayne Gordon during a church service in Joburg is but one incident that has bedevilled the church. Police are still on the lookout for the perpetrators of this violent incident. In another church in Tea Estate, Verulam, on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, a pastor was also held at gunpoint while preaching.
These spine-chilling incidents have led some churches to cancel evening services. Others have opted for private security measures and installing CCTV cameras and are encouraging members to leave their cellphones, purses, or wallets at home when attending services. Congregants have been encouraged to tithe via online payment systems and using digital platforms.
Criminals also find it easier to go after ‘easier’ targets such as university students or low-income earners who will not draw media attention for smaller ransoms. Private security companies have issued a warning about the growing number of kidnappings.
With the rising number of criminal acts in churches, leaders of over 1 500 churches in Gauteng have called a meeting with Gauteng Community Safety MEC, Faith Mazibuko, to raise their concerns and find solutions around what seems to be a powder keg waiting to explode. The South African Council of Churches has also raised its voice on the increasing bloodshed during church attacks.
While it seems as though churches are the main targets, the rise in criminal incidents is a reflection of the worsening crime conditions in communities.
The attacks on churches is just but a microcosm of a bigger problem facing Mzansi in the run-up to the national poll in 2024.
The latest crime statistics that cover the first quarter of the 2023/24 administrative year (April to June 2023) indicate that despite a dip in reported incidents in general, the number of violent crimes, including assault, murder and attempted murder, continue to escalate. Robberies with aggravating circumstances that involve the use of weapons, in which victims face danger, have also skyrocketed.
Criminals are brazenly focusing on specific groups and targets as they keep communities under siege. Churches have been advised to work with community policing forums to protect the areas where worshippers congregate.
Congregants are also urged to be each other’s keepers and identify potential criminals whose aim is to infiltrate communities and churches. With churches now caught up in the mix, the places where South Africans go to seek solace from the crime onslaught and violence, worshippers now find themselves having to seek other ways and means to protect themselves from criminals.
Home deliveries and drivers have also become prime targets for the goods and the vehicles they use. Drivers are also robbed of their personal belongings, including wallets, cellphones and cash. Hijackers now find kidnapping their victims for a ransom as a lucrative option.
Criminals seem to give the SAPS and its motormouth leader, Bheki Cele, a finger while he barks like a toothless dog as they carry on with their dastardly deeds.
It is disconcerting for Cele, his commissioners and deputy commissioners to stand on platforms and regurgitate empty promises as part of their PR exercise while people are at the coal face of crime daily.
Congregants and communities are calling for tough action against these heartless evil-doers who seem to be holding the entire nation to ransom.
Churchgoers want to be left alone in peace, and to go about their Sunday business of worshipping.
Desmond Pitoyi, is a copy editor, writer, and mentor all rolled into one!
He specialises in Copy Editing, checking grammar, Syntax, creating catchy and punchy headlines and captions, fact-checking, and meeting deadlines while paying attention to the key elements in the story.
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