FOUR security guards alleged to be working on land owned by Prophet Shepherd Bushiri are in hot water.
Two face a murder charge, while the other two are on the run.
The guards are accused of assaulting two friends who allegedly stole from Bushiri, leaving them for dead on Monday morning.
One died at the scene, while the other one is receiving treatment in hospital.
Police said the incident happened on a plot in Blue Hills in Midrand.
It is understood that after the attack, one of the men was able to walk to the nearest police station.
Provincial police spokesman Captain Kay Makhubele said: “He reported he was walking with his friend on the R55 in Midrand, when they were attacked by the security guards.
“He led the police to the scene of the crime where the body of his friend was recovered. The two men were allegedly accused by four security guards of stealing from Bushiri’s church.”
Makhubele said two guards were arrested, but the other two fled the scene. He said the guards told the police the plot belonged to Bushiri and they worked for him.
Bushiri’s spokesman Ephraim Nyondo said the land in question was purchased with the view of starting the process that would lead the church to get permission to build a church structure as per recommendations from the CRL Rights Commission.
He said an external private security company was then contracted to guard the premises.
Nyondo said: “Enlightened Christian Gathering Church does not have a branch in Midrand, nor does it operate in Midrand as a church or a business.
“We were alerted by the security company, as their client, that two robbers had been caught around that area, and that the community had mobbed the suspected perpetrators.”
He said that should the police find the security company had acted improperly, they would terminate their contract.
