In less than a week, Alexandra has been rocked by two shocking discoveries: one man found floating in the Jukskei River near Setswetla, and days later, another body uncovered on 6th Road.

These tragedies add to a growing list of cases where both men and women have been found dead, alongside reports of rape and escalating youth-on-youth violence in local schools.

As a response to this crisis, faith-based leaders and organisations convened on November 10 at 3 Square Sports Stadium to chart a spiritual response. The gathering, hosted by the City of Johannesburg and local spiritual leaders, sought to unite pastors, traditional healers, and community elders in prayer and ceremony to confront Alexandra’s violent crime.

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Attendee Rebecca Pinky Lama lamented the level of crime in the township, stressing that while police play their role, certain battles require spiritual intervention. “We thought we should unite and pray together so that God will help us,” she said. “If we unite, we can call for divine intervention to end the killings, rape, and abandonment of children.”

Gogo Brenda Selibe said silence is no longer an option. “It doesn’t help for us to be quiet and say let what happens happen. Maybe we have forgotten who we are and why we are here,” she noted, calling on spiritualists, traditional healers, and pastors to lead.

The meeting served as a crucial platform for spiritual leaders to share their beliefs about what is causing the extreme levels of violence in Alexandra.

Gogo Mahambanomoya stressed that people now follow Western customs and are deviating from the African ways of doing things, especially when it comes to dealing with the dead. “People die and their spirits are not collected,” she explained, warning that unresolved spirits and abandoned traditions deepen the crisis.

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She emphasised the need for ceremonies to cleanse Alexandra. “Alexandra needs to be cleansed before we do the work to protect the township.”

Among others, Pastor Stephanie Ngcobo added that harmful words and curses spoken in grief may perpetuate violence. She urged people to learn how to speak.

“We are the ones who have cursed Alexandra with our mouths. When you give the deceased a knife and say they should avenge themselves, they [spirits] will kill people,” she cautioned. The meeting concluded with the formation of a task team to urgently map a way forward.

Leaders agreed that spiritual intervention must begin immediately, before more blood is spilt in Alexandra.

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