POLITICS

"Praying with pangas! Gogos are sick of being bulled in church!" - Daily Sun

The front page and lead story of SA's largest daily newspaper, February 24 2014

Daily Sun (February 24 2014) - MEN who assault these church women face death!

This is after a male church elder klapped a 56-year-old woman elder twice in the face.

YESTERDAY'S ANGRY PULPIT MESSAGE TO BULLIES WAS: "ANYONE WHO TOUCHES US . . . WE WILL CHOP HIM INTO PIECES."

Yesterday, members of the Uniting Reformed Church

Women's Ministry in Kwa-

Langa, near Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, went to church armed to the teeth!

They were furious because a male KwaNobuhle member had klapped their sister.

Nosipho Cholani, women's ministry KwaLanga secretary, told Daily Sun: "We are sick of being abused by the men of this church in KwaNobuhle.

"Church is a place to pray to God. But here we must face the Devil."  "We carry sticks, pangas, axes and knobkierries to defend ourselves from cruel men," said Nosipho.

"We are more than 50 in this branch. We have few male elders. The running of this church is our responsibility.

"These elders from KwaNobuhle branch fired our reverend because they want to bully us in the Uitenhage district.

"Our reverend was fired after he said Khayelitsha extension 4 branch must stop using a shack as a church after 20 years. He initiated building that church with bricks.

"These elders got angry as that branch was going to be independent and stop relying on them to conduct big church services.

"We argued with them," said Nosipho.

Since then things have got worse between the women and KwaNobuhle branch.

"Last July, these elders closed our church gates and doors during Holy Week. We had to break-in.

"During the women's conference they stopped our reverend conducting the service.

"They kept disrupting our meetings.

"Last week they arrived uninvited during a meeting. They disrupted it and klapped a member who asked them if they were still children of God.

"She got two hot klaps in front of her kids," said Nosipho.

"We can never ever again be abused in our church by these men. We will come to our church armed. No one will bully us here."

The man accused of hitting the woman said: "I don't want to talk about this matter now as I am on the way to church."

Warrant Officer Basil Seekoei said: "A case of common assault was opened, but no one was arrested. The senior prosecutor will decide to continue with the case or not."

Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa assessor of the Cape Synod, Reverend Pieter Grove, told Daily Sun: "We have not heard about these incidents. If it is true and there is proof we will take necessary steps."

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

 

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 291,132 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 3rd Quarter 2013) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

Issued through the Politicsweb iService