An alarming increase in criminal attacks on Gauteng churches during services has seen terrified congregants staying away and desperate pastors pleading for additional security, including armed guards, CCTV cameras and metal detectors at their doors.
This week leaders from about 1,500 churches met with Gauteng’s community safety department to discuss the scourge. The meeting on Wednesday was told that churches are cancelling evening services and are reporting lower attendance.
Churches are also working closely with local community policing forums in attempts to keep criminals at bay.
At least one pastor proposed during the gathering held in Boksburg that congregants leave their cellphones and wallets at home and only bring their Bible. Church leaders all agreed that tithes and offerings be done through online payments.
While police could not provide figures on church attacks, spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo confirmed there had been an increase.
“Crime Intelligence members are hard at work to get the people who are behind these attacks,” he said. “We have noticed a trend where churches are attacked. Churches are urged to work closely with the local police stations and community police forums to tighten security and intensify police patrols during church services.”
This week Pastor “Deo” Deogratias Kabanda told the Sunday Times of a raid at his Rosettenville church in which two women were shot dead and a third was wounded on September 29.
Kabanda said the robbers had become agitated when they could not find enough cellphones and began shooting. They wounded one congregant in the thigh and another, Virginie Ekofo Mputu, in the stomach. She died in hospital 11 days later.
Any attack on a religious space is more than just a criminal act, it’s sacrilege which we cannot tolerate
— SACC deputy general secretary the Rev Mzwandile Molo.
Kabanda said the robbers shot dead a woman bystander outside the church as they fled.
Masondo confirmed the incident.
"The security officer of the church ran to [a nearby] B&B. The suspect chased him and fired shots and hit one of the customers. She was declared dead at the crime scene."
He said police were investigating a case of murder, attempted murder and business robbery. No arrests have been made.
And last weekend, a robbery and kidnapping at the Ghanaian Church of Pentecost in Doornfontein was caught on camera. The church was live-streaming a service on Facebook when armed men entered, robbing terrified congregants and taking a church elder hostage.
A church spokesperson, who did not want to be named, said the robbers had demanded R10m from the church’s head office in Ghana for the elder’s release. “He was released later in the week after a far lower ransom was paid,” the spokesperson said.
The Ghana high commission in Pretoria released a statement on Monday about the incident, warning the Ghanaian community to take precautions.
A church member, who did not want to be named, said the church had been holding a special fundraising service when nine armed men entered and ordered members to lie on their stomachs.
“One of the church members was pregnant and said she could not lie on her stomach. They kicked her and she fell.”
He said the robbers took phones and money.
In the video on Facebook, the pastor can be seen preaching as the robbers enter the church shouting “lie down”.
“One of the men went up to the pastor, but then another robber said ‘not that one’. They then took one of our elders, placed the gun at his head and left. At first we thought he was somewhere in the building but realised that he had been kidnapped. They knew who they wanted,” he said.
Church leaders at the Eagle Christian Church in Newlands, where Pastor Dwayne Gordon, 22, was killed on October 6, said they were visiting congregants at their homes to discuss the trauma.
No arrests have been made for the killing and the church has suspended evening services.
“We only have a Sunday service right now,” said church elder Randal Coetzee. “We monitor the people coming in to our service and when we feel our members have all come in, we close the gate.
“We have called trauma counsellors to come and speak to us. Since the incident, not all the people have been attending our service because they are scared and shocked. We have had to go and see people in their homes to give them a platform to speak out about what happened and say how they feel.”
At Wednesday’s meeting in Boksburg, community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko warned that criminals see churches as soft targets, because congregants are focused on worship and let their guard down.
“It is important for congregants to know each other so they are able to identify criminals who target their places of worship. Furthermore, faith-based organisations must know leaders of community policing forums within their areas and work with the police to follow up on the progress of existing criminal cases,” Mazibuko said.
Pastor Sipho Mahlangu, president of the Ecumenical Leadership Council of South Africa, an advocacy group for churches, said religious leaders agreed that they can use security guards, install CCTV cameras and even metal detectors.
“We are all in agreement that we should not bring [cash] offerings to our worship places. Churches become a target because everyone knows there is offering and tithes in cash. We can use speed points, EFTs and promote these platform to people,” Mahlangu said.
He said it would be difficult to persuade people to leave their cellphones and bags at home. A better solution, Mahlangu said, was enhancing security.
“It may come at a cost, but we have to find a way of having CCTV and having relationships with local patrollers and police so that there is visibility of patrollers within the perimeters of the church.
“Churches need to partner with the community in the fight against crime. This crime has been in the community for years and now criminals are seeing the church as a soft target,” Mahlangu said.
The South African Council of Churches has condemned the attacks, describing them as a “spill over” of crime within communities.
“There was a time when religious spaces were accepted as places of refuge. There was a level of reverence and respect afforded to religious spaces. These are sacred places to us that deserve respect and honour. Any attack on a religious space is more than just a criminal act, it’s sacrilege which we cannot tolerate,” said SACC deputy general secretary the Rev Mzwandile Molo.
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