What kind of country has South Africa become – within a space of two weeks, the beloved land of Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela wakes up every day to the news of vicious and deadly attacks on worshippers, with one of the incidents ending in a fatality.
Today, as we write this leader, the gunman who ended the life of a 22-year-old preacher, Dwayne Gordon, has not yet been apprehended. Nor have his accomplices who stormed the Eagle Christian Centre in Newlands, injuring three congregants, and traumatising the faithful who had gathered to worship their God – a right protected under our constitution.
As if that were not enough, this past week, coming on the heels of the Newlands criminal act of intimidation, robbery and death, saw the scene of atrocity and intimidation and robbery repeating itself, with another group of gunmen storming a church in Linden, Johannesburg. They also went on to use their guns to intimidate parishioners, after which they pocketed their belongings, including cellphones, money and other valuables.
The irony of ironies about the robbery, is that at the Linden police station – a stone’s throw away – the men, and women in blue literally sat on their hands, leaving vulnerable congregants to fend for themselves.
If the trend continues, and there are no arrests and the police continue to act as indifferently, many South Africans will think twice before making a beeline to places of worship.
The question, for the sake of emphasis, must be asked: how did we reach this point where criminals feel entitled to glamorise crime at the expense of our people? Why should they enjoy paradise in a country whose democracy was brought about through the sweat and blood of freedom fighters, and whose sacrifice should be the trademark of our country.
We urge the police to do what the constitution demands of them: to protect South Africans from thugs who seem to have taken control of our streets.
