Make TB Joshua pay for damages

IAM TOTALLY opposed to the awful xenophobia against Nigerian immigrants. Many South African bigots claim that all Nigerians are thieves, drug dealers or are here to steal our jobs and women.

That is rubbish and a generalisation. Our jails are bursting at the seams with our own South African criminals, and foreigners only make a small proportion of the prison population. Every country has its proportion of scoundrels which are counter balanced by many upright pillars of society, and there is undoubtedly a solid core of exemplary Nigerians.

I do have a problem with their government though and also how our own government did not respond strongly and quickly enough to get the deceased South Africans home to finally be laid to rest. There is no doubt that our government treated the families of the bereaved with great empathy and dignity, and once the per- mission to repatriate was finally given by the Nigerian government, they performed admirably with a speedy airlift and a moving welcoming ceremony at Waterkloof Air Force Base.

But it should not have been allowed to deteriorate to the situation where it took well over two months to send the bodies home, and many still left in Nigeria with no idea of when those remains will eventually come home.

Minister Jeff Radebe should have been dispatched to negotiate with the Nigerian authorities at least within the first two weeks when it was becoming apparent that they were dragging their heels.

There are various international protocols our government could have exploited. They could have lobbied support to put pressure, and shame the Nigerian authorities in institutions such as the UN or the AU.

Most importantly, TB Joshua cannot be allowed to exploit the gullibility and generosity of spirit of devout South African Christians. Joshua claims he has the power of healing and can see into the future. Well, if so, it’s strange that he didn’t see the collapse of his inferior church structure. He has already twice failed to appear in court in response to subpoenas.

He may carry a lot of clout in Nigeria, but I call on the South African government to assist families to proceed with a civil litigation to obtain financial damages. It’s the very least any government can do who value and respect the needs of their citizens.