Joshua liable in ‘devilish’ probe

THE verdict that TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of Nations in Nigeria be held criminally liable for the dormitory tragedy in which 116 people died has been dismissed as the “work of the devil” by families and survivors of the tragedy.

In a ruling yesterday, Nigerian coroner Oyetade Komolafe called for prosecution of the church for criminal negligence for the deaths on September 12 last year.

“The church must be investigated and prosecuted for not obtaining the relevant approval before embarking on construction of the building,” he said.

“The church was culpable because of criminal negligence re- sulting in the death of the victims,” Komolafe said.

But survivor Emma Nkanyane, 35, dismissed the ruling as a scientific nonsense concocted by earthly experts who knew nothing about spiritual matters.

She said the church could not be blamed for the work of the devil.

“I do not believe in scientific findings for spiritual matters . . . I will not blame the church for what happened,” she said.

“Only God will give us the truth, not some experts.”

Phillip Mbedzi, whose 30-yearold daughter, Mpho, died in the tragedy, said he was not interested in the “devilish investigation”.

The 61-year-old father from Vhembe district, Limpopo, said he had known the findings of the tribunal would point fingers at the church.

“It is just the work of the devil to destroy our bishop, but we shall not be shaken,” he said.

“We were waiting for this verdict. The bishop told us that this would be the outcome. He will guide us moving forward.”

Olalekan Ojo, on behalf of Joshua and the church, said it was unfortunate the coroner ignored submissions that “having building approval is not [a] panacea for building collapse”.

He said the coroner had ignored reports that a nearby plane caused the collapse.

Ojo said the church’s legal team would take the ruling on review if necessary.