Pastors in the Nsikazi area have raised their concerns regarding the sudden increase of robberies at different places of worship. This follows a recent robbery of a Muslim mosque in KaBokweni by an unknown group of 15 heavily armed on Friday March 4.

They say places of worship in this area have been plundered a number of times. A provincial police spokesperson, Brig Selvy Mohlala, said, “About 15 armed suspects entered a place of worship in a white Toyota minibus taxi, brandished a gun at 20 church members and robbed them of their belongings, including cellphones. These suspects also took a car, a Toyota with a registration number JRH 078 MP that belonged to one of the worshippers, just before they fled the scene.”

On Tuesday March 8, he said no arrests had been made yet. “We are still continuing with the investigation.” According to the national police crime statistics, KaBokweni has been identified as one of the hotspots for crime in Mpumalanga. Abdullah Mbawa, one of the church leaders, said he now lives in fear, because an incident like that normally happens when there is a misconception that Muslims go to a place of worship with hard cash on them.

“We are saddened by all this. We were paying attention to the preacher when a group of heavily armed suspects stormed into the mosque. They demanded our cellphones and money. That is when a fight ensued between the worshippers and thugs. Sadly, they were heavily armed, so we could overpower them. What happened to us was very unfortunate. We did not expect something like this to happen in a place of worship.

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“There are about 10 worshippers who were injured as a result of trying to fight off the criminals. We hope our members will recover speedily. It is a well-known fact that most Muslims have small businesses, so people tend to think that whenever we go to the mosque, we take the money along with us, which is untrue.”

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The police asked anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of the suspects, to call Det Lt Col Zenzo Banda on 082 373 9062, or the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111. Alternatively, members of the public may send information via the My SAPS app. All received information will be treated as confidential, and callers may opt to remain anonymous