Two South Africans who lost
relatives when a church hostel in the SCOAN collapsed have told the
BBC they intend to sue Nigerian evangelist TB Joshua.
The two men, who both lost sisters in the collapse, are appealing for
more families to come together in bringing a case against the preacher.
At least 115 people, including 84 South Africans, died when the multi-storey building fell down earlier this month.
On Sunday, Joshua, who is one of Nigeria’s best-known evangelists and
is popular across Africa, announced plans to travel to South Africa to
visit the families of the deceased.
Emergency workers allege they were prevented from participating in
the rescue, only gaining full access to the site on Sunday afternoon –
accusations denied by Pastor Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations.
Thanduxolo Doro and Mpho Molebatsi waited at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo
airport for days after the collapse for news of their sisters, who had
been visiting SCOAN.
Both families had last heard from their relatives hours before the
collapse, which happened at about 13:50 local time (12.50 GMT) on Friday
12 September.
“It is not that the building collapsed, rather what was done after
the collapse – we didn’t get any news from the church,” Doro, whose
sister Vathiswa Madikiza died, told the BBC.
“When I contacted them they wouldn’t tell me anything. We saw reports
that emergency workers were denied access initially, access that could
have saved lives. The actions of the church after the incident are very
telling,” he said.
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