Disgruntled Katlehong residents set alight the church of controversial religious leader Paseka “Pastor Mboro” Motsoeneng on Tuesday.
The church, known as Incredible Happenings, located just behind the Katlehong North police station, was also looted shortly before it was set alight.
News24 was at the scene and saw several pupils in school uniform running from the burning church.
Law enforcement officers were present but did not intervene.
It is believed that pupils were mobilised from various
schools in Katlehong. Some gathered outside Matsediso Primary School.
Others met at the police station, where they ran to the
church, which was less than 100 metres away, and set it alight.
Observers looked on in shock as students set fire to
the church. During the chaos, several community members were spotted absconding
with electrical cables, speakers, chairs, and various other items from the
premises.
Firefighting teams from the Ekurhuleni Municipality responded
swiftly, arriving just minutes after flames had completely consumed the church.
Above the charred ruins of the former church, a police helicopter circled,
surveying the aftermath.
Remarkably, a few items survived the fire: a shack used by
the caretaker, a fuel generator, mobile toilets and some chairs remained
untouched by the flames.
Speaking at
the ANC’s three-day National Executive Committee (NEC) Lekgotla in Boksburg,
Ekurhuleni, police minister Senzo Mchunu raised concerns about the incident.
“It is
something that we condemn. When a community leader or a citizen carries
what appears to be firearms and a bush knife [and] go to an institution like
education, for whatever reason, brandish such things like panda and cause
commotion because that causes anxiety among children, we condemn that.
“We know that police are dealing with it, and we hope
that more arrests will come,” Mchunu said.
Ntwaagae Seleka and Iavan Pijoos
www.news24.com
