Article an attack on church and bishop

I WRITE this letter appalled at the article, “‘Torture at church’ ” (March 10). It has come as a surprise that such an esteemed publication as The Herald could publish what one might refer to as a thinly veiled attack on the bishop of the Bantu Church of Christ, the congregation of the church and the community at large.

In the article not a single thread of evidence was produced to substantiate the allegations. I presume you are bound by the ethos of good journalism regarding accuracy, accountability, acting independently and responsibly?

The accuracy of the information I believe should be one of, if not the most important, facets when reporting an alleged incident. Did the authors strive for accurate reporting?

Did they attempt to collect all the relevant facts and apply pertinent consideration to all the facts prior to publication? Throughout the whole article the narrative is that of the “sources” who put forward their side of the story.

At no point do they provide evidence to support their account. However in the article their account is put forward as fact!

Did the journalist verify any of the information? It is alleged that one of the boys was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

If so, then I presume the journalist would have obtained the name of the hospital he was sent to and the type of injuries he would have sustained.

If we were to believe the article whips were used and it is quite obvious that they would leave a mark. Surely pictures would have been taken to substantiate the claim and this could have been done without revealing the identity of the alleged victim?

Similarly with the claim of strangulation, evidence would have existed to support these allegations. These are grave accusations!

Your article has not only accused the bishop and the church of torture, but also of attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice. These are serious allegations and surely the editor cannot allow such an article to be published without being privy to such evidence.

The article is published as a fact. If so then the evidence or lack thereof is telling. Without evidence this article libels the bishop and the Bantu Church of Christ. The article is not fair to the bishop and the church.

Is there any truth to this article? We as readers place a lot of faith in newspapers, due to the notion that a newspaper will always report the truth and nothing but the truth.

I wonder in whose interest is the article written? I fail to understand the purpose of the article, other than to tarnish the image of the bishop and the Bantu Church of Christ.

I appeal to the editor to provide the evidence to support the article.

I am a proud member of the Bantu Church of Christ. The views in this letter are solely mine and should in no way be attributed to the bishop and the Bantu Church of Christ. THE Bantu Church of Christ has already admitted the incident took place. On March 13, The Herald published a report quoting the church's secretary-general, Rev Siphiwo Mazwi, who confirmed the incident, but said it only involved the youth of the church. Mazwi distanced Bishop John Bolana and his council from the matter, but stated that the bishop would institute an internal investigation. – The editor