The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Synagogue

  • Synagogue: Outrage in South Africa over bodies

    Synagogue: Outrage in South Africa over bodies

    There is outrage in South Africa over the late release of bodies of the over 84 nationals who died in the Synagogue Church building collapse in Ikotun, on the Lagos outskirts on September 12.

    In all, 116 people died in the disaster into which the Lagos State government has initiated an inquest.

    There was still no news on when the bodies will be returned home, a South African government spokesperson was quoted as saying yesterday.

    “We still don’t know. Even as we speak now the laboratory (in Lagos) has not given us an update,” Phumla Williams said.

    “We reckon by end of the week there will be some information. You see, they are not commissioned by us, they are commissioned by the Nigerian government. So they are reporting directly to the Nigerian government, not to us.”

    The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Olawale Oke, said DNA samples for identification of the 116 victims had been concluded.

    He said the hospital sent the specimens to South Africa and was awaiting the results of the analyses.

    Oke said: “You are aware that an inquest is on now; so, there is limit to what I can tell you about this.

    “I can tell you that the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital has collected the samples of family members of victims of the collapsed building for DNA testing at a Pathology and Forensic Medicine.

    “This is to ensure that all victims of the collapsed building are properly identified and delivered to their various families for burial rites.

    “The DNA is being done free.

    “Because 80 per cent of the victims were South Africans, for us to take a specimen from the relations, you have to bring at least two relatives from South Africa to Nigeria.

    “So, the state decided to select a laboratory in South Africa that is equally competent to do the DNA so that 80 per cent of the relations who are South Africans could have their specimens taken.

    “The specimens of their Nigerian victims have been flown to South Africa.

    “The post-mortem for all of them have been conducted, the dental recognition process done, X-rays have been done where necessary; so, we are just waiting for the results to be out.”

    LASUTH Board Chairman Dr Francis Williams said the hospital had the capacity to effectively manage crises and emergencies within the state.

    On October 12, South African newspaper City Press quoted a Nigerian medical examiner as saying the bodies would be taken from Lagos by month end.

    “We are looking at three weeks,” Prof John Obafunwa, was quoted as saying.

    “I would be surprised if we had to wait till November… I expect all bodies to be out by that time. The inquest could drag on for weeks and months. But we’re not going to delay the release of bodies to family members because of that.”

    The Inkatha Freedom Party yesterday criticised the Nigerian government for the delay.

    “This is disheartening and this clearly shows a lack of ubuntu. One can imagine the agony of the families who have been waiting for several weeks for their loved ones to be brought back home,” the party’s national chairperson Blessed Gwala said.

    “The Nigerian government must respond in the spirit of ubuntu by speeding up the process of the DNA testing and the bodies must be sent back home without any further delay.”

    Gwala said families in South Africa had to postpone funerals because they did not have the bodies.

    “Whenever there is death there are rituals and cultural norms that need to be observed, but these families are being denied this.”

    A group of pastors called the Mahikeng Ministers Fellowship called on Nigerian authorities to expedite the repatriation of the bodies.

    “We are concerned that until the (families) have mourned and buried their loved ones in dignity, families… will not find closure to carry on with their lives,” the group’s chairman, Zandisile Mpame, said in a statement.

    He said it was unacceptable that the identification and repatriation of the bodies had still not been completed after 40 days.

  • Coroner to synagogue: Release manifest to pathologist

    Coroner to synagogue: Release manifest to pathologist

    he Lagos State Coroner investigating the cause of the collapse of a six-storey building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun, yesterday directed the church to give the state’s pathologist a copy of the manifest of the people inside the building when it caved in.

    Coroner Oyetade Komolafe gave the directive at the church during a visit to the scene, following the inavailability of a list containing the names of victims and survivors of the September 12 mishap.

    No fewer than 115 bodies, mostly South Africans, were recovered from the debris of the building with 131 persons reportedly rescued alive.

    However, there was a disagreement as to whether or not the pathologist needs the list to do his job, with the church’s lawyer, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, stating that DNA samples had been taken over two weeks ago.

    He insisted that the church would obey the court’s request for manifest “when we get to the bridge”.

    But Komolafe insisted that the manifest must be handed over to the Chief Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, without delay.

    The coroner said: “One of the things we will be asking for is the manifest of people occupying the building before the incident. We have read from the media that some of the artisans working on the building were from Togo. We need names of everybody that was in the premises, both residents and workers.

    “Without these names, bodies will not be released to their relatives and that will mean unclaimed or unknown bodies, hence, they will be given mass burial. Let us not go into all this (argument). Give the CMO the manifest.

    “They need it and it is something that should not be postponed. As I said before, see it as it is. Nobody is on trial or being persecuted. We have to know what happened to avert future occurrence.”

    While inspecting the collapse site as well as the CCTV cameras that captured the footages backing the church’s claim of “terrorist attack”, the Coroner requested to see the contractor, but was told he was not available.

    Consequently, he asked the church to make available the details of the contractor since it hired him, so that the court could reach him.

    Although the church tried to object to the directive, the Coroner insisted that no body would be released without proper identification.

    Fagbemi, arguing for the church, said: “With respect sir, I think the issue of identification will not need blood samples if the families can come and identify their relations.”

    He went on: “DNA samples have been submitted to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) over two weeks ago. I do not know what they have done with that.

    “The families involved submitted samples, which were handed over to the state. The manifest is not needed now, when we get to that bridge, we will cross it. Nobody is picking holes in what youý are doing but we are only saying that we submitted something a long time ago. With this directive which your Lordship has given, we will comply when we get to that bridge.”

    Explaining the need for the manifest, Obafunwa said the demand was to enable them match bodies with names for effective DNA result.

    He publicly delivered a request letter to the church, which was received and acknowledged by SCOAN’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Sunday Okojie.

    The CSO, who took the delegation round the premises, disclosed that the CCTV cameras that got the footages were “cameras three and six”.

    He explained that the collapsed building did not affect any other structure.

  • Ondo students support Synagogue pastor

    The National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS) has urged the founder of Synagogue Church of all Nations (SOCAN), Pastor Temitope Joshua not to allow the building collapse incident that claimed 115 lives discourage him from serving God.

    The student group also flayed Nigerians for mocking the man of God on the social media and other platforms instead of sympathising with him.

    In a statement signed by the union’s national President, Akinfolayan Awodola, the students, asked Prophet Joshua not to be distracted by the comments from people bent on running him down.

    The statement reads in part: “It is very unfortunate that many Nigerians have castigated the man of God because of the incident. Many have called him different names on the social media.

    “We as students sympathise with the man of God and we admonish him not to allow the incident weigh him down. The impact of Prophet T.B. Joshua in the world at large cannot be underestimated.  He is a special giver who has continued to bless this generation. The man of God through our assessment and public acceptance has touched directly or indirectly millions of lives. One of his kind gestures is the recent employment of 10 university graduates from Ondo State.”

    The students’ body also urged the federal government to probe the helicopter that purportedly hovered round the church before the building collapsed.

  • Synagogue: Coroner solicits South Africa’s support for DNA test

    Synagogue: Coroner solicits South Africa’s support for DNA test

    A Lagos Coroner investigating the collapse of a building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on Monday appealed to the South African government to allow relatives of their deceased nationals come to Nigeria to donate DNA samples.

    Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe made the appeal at the inaugural sitting of inquest into the cause of the building collapse at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

    He noted that the DNA examination, which is a major aspect in the inquest, would not be done if relatives were not available to identify their deceased relations.

    Komolafe explained that the relations of the victims would be needed to donate blood to enable the pathologists identify the bodies through DNA test, after which the bodies will be released for burial.

    A total of 115 bodies, majorly South Africans, were recovered from the debris of the building.

    Komolafe noted that the investigation was not a prosecution, saying facts should be given as they are by all parties so that such occurrences can be avoided in future.

    He said, “‎I empathise with the families of the victims, but I want to seize this opportunity to state the importance of the DNA to this inquest.

    “Relatives of victims should avail themselves and donate blood to enable the pathologists identify the bodies.

    “The medical team and pathologists are working because the court has directed them to carry out the activities and report back.

    “It is important for the South African embassy to ensure that relatives of the victims come forward for the pathologist to get the needed samples to compare with the bodies.

    “Those corpses have to be properly identified and when that is done and the process completed, the bodies will be released to the South African government and they can take them home if they want them taken home.

    “We have to all work together. We should not allow anything to cause misunderstanding. Nigeria and South Africa we are one, at least we are blacks.

    “Please, let us work together to make this process a success.”

     

  • Synagogue: ‘South African families still waiting for bodies’

    Synagogue: ‘South African families still waiting for bodies’

    Families of South Africans who died in the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) collapse have an indefinite wait for the return of the bodies – which continue to decompose, the South Africa government said.

    “We wish we had (a timeline). We are entirely at the mercy of the Nigerians,” said government spokesperson Phumla Williams.

    She said that the SA government had decided that it needed to have a frank discussion with the families about the state the bodies would be in when they were returned.

    She said the families were told: “We are appealing to you that you expect the worst. I don’t think you want to see your relative in the state that they are in…The majority of them – I don’t think that they are looking good”.

    Earlier the Sunday Independent reported that in some mortuaries, bodies were being kept cool with fans and no refrigeration, a claim the Nigerian government denied.

    On Friday, it was announced that the post-mortems of all the 116 victims had been completed. Eighty South Africans were among those killed when the multi-storey guest house attached to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos collapsed on 12 September.

    Williams said that they believed three or four of the bodies from South Africans killed were in a better state because they had been embalmed quickly.

    The  government had hoped that the process of repatriation would move quickly after the post-mortems.

    However, this process had been frustrated by the fact that Nigerian officials had insisted on doing DNA testing themselves.

    “They don’t have the technology.”

    She said that South Africans had hoped “at least to assist” in the process since.

    Nevertheless, the government was still waiting to hear if the bodies had been transported to a service provider for the testing.

    “We don’t know when they are going to finish.”

    She said the government had also learned that “because of the state in which the bodies are in, the DNA testing is not going to be a quick process”.

    This left the government reluctant to estimate a date for the return of the bodies as it did not want to create unnecessary expectations.

    However, Williams asserted that “at any stage; we [the SA government] are ready to go and fetch (the bodies)”.

  • Synagogue: Fashola to apply the law

    Synagogue: Fashola to apply the law

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola  (SAN) said yesterday that his administration would apply the law when the ongoing investigation into the cause of the collapsed Synagogue Guest House is completed.

    Fashola spoke when members of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners led by the Commissioner for Physical Planning,  Olutoyin Ayinde, visited him at Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said coroner inquest had been instituted by the Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, stressing that investigation on the cause and manner of the collapse would continue.

    “I think we must understand that our government has repeatedly said we will investigate it. We will definitely do so. Last week, the Attorney-General empanelled the Coroner’s Court because that is the appropriate machinery of the government to undertake this kind of investigation, especially when people die in such tragic or unnatural circumstances.

    “I think we should just allow that process to go on.  I think the investigation will be held if we refrain from any comment about this incident. This is the way that every civilised society proceeds and we must assume that all the necessary provisions of law will be complied with.

    “That is our track record here and nothing less will happen in this case. That is the minimum every government must do. People must understand that when accidents like this happen, there are many stages to it. Perhaps, we have got used to what was an inappropriate conduct to get to the scene of crime or accident and to pronounce this is what has happened before the investigation is concluded.

    “We are professionals. We are not trained like that. If people are not used to our methods, they must get used to it because that is the way we are going to act. We are going to act methodically. We are going to act in a civilised manner.”

    The governor noted that investigations are always painstaking and scientific, adding that Lagos has shown capacity in this area.

    He explained that in an incident of that nature, the initial thing to do was to search and rescue, followed by recovery stage.

    “We recover and protect the site and all the materials that can be gathered from there. It is from the recovery stage that the investigation stage follows”, he said, warning that it was wrong for non-professionals to assume that those involved in an accident are dead without certification from a medical doctor.

    “This kind of behaviour must stop. Unless there is anybody keeping dead bodies in his house and private hospital, we are the regulators and all those bodies come to our mortuaries. So, we must account for them as we will. I understand the public interest in this, but we must act methodically.

    The governor attributed incidents of building collapse to human errors and individuals trying to cut corners.

    “Although the planning permit stage is also a stage in which some problems can be nipped in the bud in terms of design, calculation for load bearing structure and so forth. You could have obtained a permit to build in a particular way and you are building in a manner that is inconsistent with the approval that you have.

    “Are you using the right gauge of steel that you got approval for? Are you using inferior gauge or small gauge? Are you mixing your aggregate and cement according to the approval that you got?”

    He added that irrespective of ownership of the structure, the truth remains that professionals breach the rule.

    “Government, as an artificial legal entity, is not the one responsible for those collapses. It is individuals like you and me, men and women, who have broken the rules. If the buildings erected by Europeans are still standing 70 or 80 years after they did so, this generation must be provoked to self-examination.

    “Why is Cocoa House still standing and the buildings constructed 20 years ago coming down? All the professionals in this field must wake up and do their work appropriately,” he said.

  • Synagogue tragedy: Families can’t get bodies yet

    Synagogue tragedy: Families can’t get bodies yet

    South Africa yesterday told families of the victims of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building in Lagos that it is likely to take “a considerable amount of time” before the bodies of the dead South Africans  are taken home.

    Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said in Pretoria that the latest report was that only 18 post-mortems had been completed on the victims of the disaster.

    “In terms of the last report, they have only completed 18 post-mortems (out of 115) so far. But as soon as the process is completed, we’ll be able to repatriate.”

    Radebe said government understood the frustration and anguish of families waiting for the return of the bodies of their loved ones.

    Around 115 people, among them 84 South Africans, were killed and dozens trapped when a multi-storey guest house attached to the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed in Lagos on September 12.

    Radebe said that of the 84 South Africans killed, the number of bodies identified to date remained 62, the same figure announced last Wednesday.

    He said going by the Nigerian law, the South African experts who flew to Lagos to assist could not perform post-mortems on the victims, but only act as observers.

    “A post-mortem has to be performed on all deceased persons, and death certificates have to be issued, before the mortal remains can be repatriated back to South Africa,” said Radebe.

    “Regrettably, this process is bound to take a considerable amount of time due to the large number of people who perished in this incident.”

    Families had to prepare themselves for “a process that might go on a while longer than we would have wished”.

    Radebe also warned on the condition of the remains.

    “Due to the scale of the disaster, the passage of time, and the climatic conditions in Nigeria, most of the mortal remains are not in a good state.

    “Out of concern for secondary trauma to the families, as well as public health considerations, government discourages family members from viewing the mortal remains.”

    He said the remains would be brought to South Africa “on a single flight, properly equipped for this task”.

    On arrival, they would be taken to a special facility where they could be collected by family members.

    But we’ll know by the end of the week, when are we going to be repatriating South Africans.”

    Radebe said the process of fingerprinting victims had been completed.

    “We have reached a critical milestone in the identification of the mortal remains. The capturing of fingerprints on the deceased persons has, where possible, been completed.”

  • Death at the synagogue

    Apart from the festering insurgency, two other recent events have combined to constantly keep the nation in the prying eyes of the international community. These are the outbreak of the Ebola disease and collapse of a five-storey building at the Synagogue church in Lagos. Though not essentially related, both have had the net effect of taking heavy tolls on human lives and will continue to dominate public discourse for quite sometime.

    This is more so as those who lost their lives in the two incidents were both Nigerians and foreigners.

    Not unexpectedly, world attention has for the greater part of the last two months been primed within our shores. And for a country that has not been rated high in managing crisis situations, it is to be imagined the avalanche of negative reportage these would have generated.

    Surprisingly however, our leaders were able to effectively and efficiently manage the first such that no less a body than the World Health Organization (WHO) came out to score us very high.

    Though the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer who imported the deadly virus into the country concealed information on his lethal ailment thus exposing others to mortal danger, our health professionals moved in quickly to arrest further spread. The efficiency with which they worked, posted positive results through minimal deaths such that today, the country has been adjudged free of the virus. This is something to cheer.

    But if the handling of the Ebola outbreak was an instant success, that of the collapse of a five-storey building at the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, left much to be desired. Ironically, the synagogue was the first place of worship visited by a medical team from both the Lagos State, the federal government and the WHO to solicit the cooperation of its general overseer, Prophet T.B. Joshua not to admit Ebola patients into his premises. They had then politely told him that the virus spreads very fast and is not one of such ailments that could succumb to faith healing.

    Joshua promised to work with the team to ensure that the virus does not spread by not admitting people from the affected countries and suspending some of his healing programmes. So he was part of the story that turned out as the successful management of the Ebola outbreak in this country.

    Ironically, the same church was to turn out the theatre of a monumental calamity some weeks after through the collapse of one of its buildings. Reports had it that the building collapsed while many visitors, mainly foreigners were having their lunch. Initial reports on the suspected cause of the collapse were sketchy, but there was some convergence that the building went down while construction workers were busy adding additional structures on it.

    While many were said to have been trapped at the various floors, rescue work could not commence early as the church officials and worshippers were alleged to have prevented rescuers access to the place. Even those who would have been saved had quick response arrived, lost their lives through delays arising from the inexplicable hostility of the church officials and worshippers.

    The church was to come out some days later to allege that the collapse was as a result of terror attack by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents. In a video clip it showed to the public, Joshua claimed a plane had hovered around the building before it finally went down. Both Lagos State and the federal governments are investigating the incident. But Lagos has had to suspend action or further comments on the incident to avoid jeopardizing the inquisition of the federal authorities.

    Before now however, the state government had made it clear that the ill-fated building was originally approved as a two-storey building. It also said it had no records that approval was given for the additional three floors which were being added when the calamity occurred.

    From all indications, the Lagos State government has clear ideas of the issue at stake being the approving authority. Without prejudice to whatever the federal government panel is doing, it is certain that its job will be incomplete without the cooperation of the host government. It is not clear how that panel intends to work. But much of the information it requires to determine the cause of the collapse are with the Lagos State government.

    It would therefore have been more rewarding to build a synergy with the host government on the matter. The way things stand, the state government does not feel it should continue with its own inquisition to avoid conflict of interests. That is why it has suspended all activities on the matter. But that is where the problem arises. At what point will the state government come into the matter again? Or will it come out with its findings after the federal panel would have unveiled its results? These are some of the posers that seem to suggest there should have been collaboration between the two levels of government.

    The type of synergy that was called into action to curtail the immediate spread of the Ebola virus ought to have formed the plank for the investigations. With such collaborative efforts, all issues relating to the unfortunate incident would be fully examined and recommendations to forestall future occurrences made.

    It is still not late for the federal authorities to expand the panel to include relevant authorities of the Lagos State government. A situation in which the state government has now been forced to stall action on the matter awaiting the federal panel is not the best approach to it.

    The issue is of immense public interest and it will be counter productive if the two governments come out with different versions.  The right thing therefore is for both parties to work together, harmonize positions and come out with a common position.

    Joshua had introduced the terrorism theory. It should be investigated. But even before its outcome is known, it would appear such a theory will definitely lack in scientific validity. This writer will stand to be proved wrong.

    Beyond these, the nation must have been heavily embarrassed that as we were still giving out the casualty figure as 44, the South African President, Jacob Zuma went public to announce that 67 of their citizens had died in the incident. That really opened up public eyes that if one single country could lose 67 people, the fatality would have been much higher. And it came to pass. That country alone lost 84 citizens.

    The blame has been placed at the door steps of the church for its hostility to rescuers. The panel must get at the root of it. Those found culpable should be made to face the full weight of the law. The South African people are so piqued by this singular incident that their youths have vowed not to allow Joshua into their country until he has accounted for their dead compatriots. They also vowed to sue him. That is a measure of the outrage the incident has generated. The world is awaiting the outcome of the findings. We must demonstrate very unambiguously that the law is no respecter of persons through appropriate punishment to identifiable culprits.

  • Death at the synagogue

    Apart from the festering insurgency, two other recent events have combined to constantly keep the nation in the prying eyes of the international community. These are the outbreak of the Ebola disease and collapse of a five-storey building at the Synagogue church in Lagos. Though not essentially related, both have had the net effect of taking heavy tolls on human lives and will continue to dominate public discourse for quite sometime.

    This is more so as those who lost their lives in the two incidents were both Nigerians and foreigners.

    Not unexpectedly, world attention has for the greater part of the last two months been primed within our shores. And for a country that has not been rated high in managing crisis situations, it is to be imagined the avalanche of negative reportage these would have generated.

    Surprisingly however, our leaders were able to effectively and efficiently manage the first such that no less a body than the World Health Organization (WHO) came out to score us very high.

    Though the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer who imported the deadly virus into the country concealed information on his lethal ailment thus exposing others to mortal danger, our health professionals moved in quickly to arrest further spread. The efficiency with which they worked, posted positive results through minimal deaths such that today, the country has been adjudged free of the virus. This is something to cheer.

    But if the handling of the Ebola outbreak was an instant success, that of the collapse of a five-storey building at the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, left much to be desired. Ironically, the synagogue was the first place of worship visited by a medical team from both the Lagos State, the federal government and the WHO to solicit the cooperation of its general overseer, Prophet T.B. Joshua not to admit Ebola patients into his premises. They had then politely told him that the virus spreads very fast and is not one of such ailments that could succumb to faith healing.

    Joshua promised to work with the team to ensure that the virus does not spread by not admitting people from the affected countries and suspending some of his healing programmes. So he was part of the story that turned out as the successful management of the Ebola outbreak in this country.

    Ironically, the same church was to turn out the theatre of a monumental calamity some weeks after through the collapse of one of its buildings. Reports had it that the building collapsed while many visitors, mainly foreigners were having their lunch. Initial reports on the suspected cause of the collapse were sketchy, but there was some convergence that the building went down while construction workers were busy adding additional structures on it.

    While many were said to have been trapped at the various floors, rescue work could not commence early as the church officials and worshippers were alleged to have prevented rescuers access to the place. Even those who would have been saved had quick response arrived, lost their lives through delays arising from the inexplicable hostility of the church officials and worshippers.

    The church was to come out some days later to allege that the collapse was as a result of terror attack by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents. In a video clip it showed to the public, Joshua claimed a plane had hovered around the building before it finally went down. Both Lagos State and the federal governments are investigating the incident. But Lagos has had to suspend action or further comments on the incident to avoid jeopardizing the inquisition of the federal authorities.

    Before now however, the state government had made it clear that the ill-fated building was originally approved as a two-storey building. It also said it had no records that approval was given for the additional three floors which were being added when the calamity occurred.

    From all indications, the Lagos State government has clear ideas of the issue at stake being the approving authority. Without prejudice to whatever the federal government panel is doing, it is certain that its job will be incomplete without the cooperation of the host government. It is not clear how that panel intends to work. But much of the information it requires to determine the cause of the collapse are with the Lagos State government.

    It would therefore have been more rewarding to build a synergy with the host government on the matter. The way things stand, the state government does not feel it should continue with its own inquisition to avoid conflict of interests. That is why it has suspended all activities on the matter. But that is where the problem arises. At what point will the state government come into the matter again? Or will it come out with its findings after the federal panel would have unveiled its results? These are some of the posers that seem to suggest there should have been collaboration between the two levels of government.

    The type of synergy that was called into action to curtail the immediate spread of the Ebola virus ought to have formed the plank for the investigations. With such collaborative efforts, all issues relating to the unfortunate incident would be fully examined and recommendations to forestall future occurrences made.

    It is still not late for the federal authorities to expand the panel to include relevant authorities of the Lagos State government. A situation in which the state government has now been forced to stall action on the matter awaiting the federal panel is not the best approach to it.

    The issue is of immense public interest and it will be counter productive if the two governments come out with different versions.  The right thing therefore is for both parties to work together, harmonize positions and come out with a common position.

    Joshua had introduced the terrorism theory. It should be investigated. But even before its outcome is known, it would appear such a theory will definitely lack in scientific validity. This writer will stand to be proved wrong.

    Beyond these, the nation must have been heavily embarrassed that as we were still giving out the casualty figure as 44, the South African President, Jacob Zuma went public to announce that 67 of their citizens had died in the incident. That really opened up public eyes that if one single country could lose 67 people, the fatality would have been much higher. And it came to pass. That country alone lost 84 citizens.

    The blame has been placed at the door steps of the church for its hostility to rescuers. The panel must get at the root of it. Those found culpable should be made to face the full weight of the law. The South African people are so piqued by this singular incident that their youths have vowed not to allow Joshua into their country until he has accounted for their dead compatriots. They also vowed to sue him. That is a measure of the outrage the incident has generated. The world is awaiting the outcome of the findings. We must demonstrate very unambiguously that the law is no respecter of persons through appropriate punishment to identifiable culprits.

  • Synagogue building victim: Masiba, Magazine publisher

    Synagogue building victim: Masiba, Magazine publisher

    One of victims of the Synagogue Church of All Nations building in which over sixty South Africans died is a Christian magazine publisher and editor,

    Ponko Ka Masiba, a South African, until his death in the September 12 incident was East-London based publisher of Let’s Praise Magazine.

    Masiba’s death was confirmed in a facebook post on September 23 by a former senior colleague at Sunday Sun Newspaper, Phalane Motale,

    “ Friends, it is with deep sadness that I have to announce that the family of Ponko Masiba has confirmed that he had died when Pastor TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, last Friday.

    “ LALA NGOXOLO PMLive! May the Lord have mercy on your soul! May HE give your family, friends and relatives strength and wisdom to understand that IT’s HIS WILL.” Motale wrote.

    His family members and friends who had been hoping he would be one of the survivors were devastated when the news of his death reached them.

    Responding to the announcement of Panko’s death, a former colleague Vicky Somniso-Abraham replied to the facebook post “ My heart bleeds. Now I understand why I have been feeling the I have been lately.”

    Vusi Mona said “ I’m so sad Phalane. He blazed the trail in coveting religious news.”

    “Sad indeed. One of our best taken at his prime. We are so much poorer. We have been robbed. May God grant us peace and understanding,” LR Adendorf said in his tribute.

    Tumo Mokole however said “ True we cannot question God’s deeds but we must condemn human’s pettiness, like flouting of building procedures through bribes and other means. What a gentleman we lost.”