Mercy plea: ‘Don’t kill us ... this is a church’
Joburg congregant cruelly shot dead in the pews for cellphone
● Pastor Deogratius Kabanda is in shock after armed men stormed into his church during a recent service and left two women dead and another wounded.
His French-speaking church in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, Ville De Refuge Ministry, was holding a three-day prayer and fasting service when the nightmare unfolded before his eyes.
On the evening of Friday September 29, Kabanda began preaching after the congregation was seated.
“I still cannot believe what happened that day. Our pianist came in late from work, wearing his blue overalls, and sat in front. I noticed that a guy coming in behind him was also wearing blue overalls. As I was trying to figure out who this guy was, another guy pushed our usher at the door and entered the church with a gun in his hand. In no time, five men were inside the church, all armed with guns,” Kabanda said.
One of the armed men came up to him and took the microphone. He then started shouting: “Let us pray and shout for Jesus!” Kabanda suspects this was done so people outside did not realise a robbery was in progress.
As Kabanda lay face down on the stage, the men robbed the congregants.
“When they looked at the phones they had collected, one of them complained there were many people in the church but they had not collected as many phones. He suggested that they kill someone so congregants would be scared and hand over their cellphones. One of them said: ‘Don’t kill us — this is a church.’ But the guy who made the threat fired two shots,” Kabanda said.
Two women were hit, one in the thigh and the other in the stomach.
Virginie Ekofo Mputu, who was shot in the stomach, died from her injuries 11 days later in hospital. Her body was repatriated to her home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kabanda said only one of the men had covered his face with a mask.
He said that after the shots were fired the situation became chaotic, and the robbers fled. Outside, they fired on security guards at a nearby guest house, and a woman leaving a salon ran for safety. The robbers pursued the woman and shot her, killing her instantly.
“The incident was so traumatic for the congregation, but all the people who were at the prayer meeting came to church that Sunday. The mood was sombre. Since then, we have been trying to cope with the trauma of the attack. It is tough,” Kabanda said, his voice faltering.
It was the second such attack on the church. In September last year, musicians rehearsing for a service were also robbed.
Kabanda and his leadership have hired armed guards to patrol the church during services. The church is also planning to install security gates and CCTV cameras.
There have been several attacks on churches in Gauteng over the past year.
Pastor Dwayne Gordon, 22, was killed at the Eagles Christian Centre in Newlands, Johannesburg, on October 6 during an evening service. He was shot by armed men who stormed into the church and robbed the congregation.
Also in October, Pastor Siyabonga Hlongwane was shot dead when armed men robbed church members of their belongings in Malvern, eastern Johannesburg.
On October 15, a 13-year-old boy was assaulted at the Reformed Church in Daspoort, western Pretoria, during a robbery.
Johan van Staden, chair of the Hercules community policing forum, told the Sunday Times that congregants were counting money when four armed men entered and robbed them of it. They also took cellphones, jewellery and the church laptop.
The teenager was hit on the head with a pistol and kicked in the face when he fell to the ground.
Van Staden said one congregant fired two shots at the robbers, who fled.
In November last year, robbers entered the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Claim
Street in the Johannesburg CBD.
Pastor Israel Ntshangase said that, just as the preacher began his sermon at about 11am, three men entered the church with guns.
They took cellphones from the congregants, as well as the church’s two laptops.
“After the robbery, members of the church recognised one of the three guys. He had visited the church seven days before the attack. We suspect he had come to spy on us ... It was a really a bad experience, and we had to organise trauma counselling for our members,” Ntshangase said.
He added that an alarm system had since been installed on the premises, together with CCTV cameras.
Rev Kamogelo Monoametsi of the Bryanston Methodist church said criminals stole a member’s Toyota Fortuner during a service in May.
“At the beginning of this year, they stole a Lexus SUV that was in the church’s yard. During the week, we allow runners to park their cars [on the property] because we have a large parking lot. Five minutes after the runner had parked the car it was gone.”
Monoametsi said the church had since hired additional security personnel to prevent theft.
He said society had lost respect for places of worship.
“People know that churches are making large sums of money and have prominent people [attending them]. If you come to our church, CEOs, managers and even the deputy president [Paul Mashatile] are in the congregation.
“If you target my church, you know that there is a certain class of people that you will find in the church, and that makes the church a target,” Monoametsi said.
Bishop Mosa Sono of Grace Bible Church said criminals tried to break into his church in Protea Glen, Soweto, but an armed response team had managed to thwart them.