GOD'S holy house has become a playground for criminals who target congregants.
Members of Enlightened Christians Gathering (ECG) church in Mpumalanga were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday night, 12 August at around 9.30pm.
This is the very same church which was founded by self-proclaimed pastor Shepherd Bushiri.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said on that unfaithful night, about 10 Kamhlushwa branch members were gathered for the night vigil. He said while they were waiting for other members, they were ambushed by robbers.
“Three robbers armed with handguns and their faces covered stormed the church and robbed members of an undisclosed amount of cash, 14 cell phones, personal bank cards, the church's bank card and further demanded the personal identification numbers (pins),” Mohlala said.
He said the suspects also made off with one of the congregant's cars, which was later found abandoned at Mzinti, about 7km from the church.
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The provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Manamela said they have gathered a team of investigators to probe the matter.
He said criminals won’t be allowed to walk free and promised to get those behind the robbery behind bars soon.
This is not the first time such an incident has happened in a church before.
In June 2023, six armed men stormed into a church in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni at around 8.30pm where one of the robbers allegedly fired a warning shot and told the pastor to ask the congregation to stop praying.
Two of their members were shot, and the pastor died later in hospital.
At the time of the incident, the pastor's wife was in the church. Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo had said a case of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery was opened for investigation.
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