A Seventh-day Adventist Church in Joburg was robbed by armed men. File picture: Reuters/Sucheta Das
A PASTOR and his congregation at a Joburg central Seventh-day Adventist Church were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday afternoon.
According to reports on social media, six armed men entered the church as visitors and when the preacher was at the podium, the men got up, ordered him to lie down and took all cellphones, wallets and other valuables from the congregation.
Johannesburg CBD: Six armed men stormed a church and robbed people. The pastor was at the podium at the time. Wallets, phones & valuables stolen from members of the congregation. pic.twitter.com/cLXx1IOyKX
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) November 26, 2022
Church deacon Prince Thebe said: “We were just in the middle of the service, and some six guys came in, pointed guns at us, and started asking money for offerings and cellphones.
“When the first guy came in, he went to the front seat and while sitting there, he kept looking around and moving seats. The other deacon went to him and asked him what he wanted. He said, ‘I’m visiting, and I don’t know where to sit’. He then suddenly stood up and went out.
“A few minutes later, a group of guys stomped inside the church, from the right and left sides of the doors. One went straight to the preacher in the front, pointed a gun at him, and told him to lie down. The other guys were busy with the congregation, walking pew by pew and collecting cellphones. They then asked for the money for offerings, and we showed them the basket. They took the money and ran off.”
The Gauteng police opened a business robbery docket and the acting provincial commissioner, Major-General Tommy Mthombeni, condemned the attack on the church and said: “Police will do everything to bring the perpetrators to book. Church members should be allowed to do their business peacefully.”
Recent crime statistics shared by Police Minister Bheki Cele earlier this month showed that South Africa has been more engulfed in crime than it was during the second quarter of last year. Almost every category of crime, from murder to sexual offences and robberies, recorded an increase in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.