UPDATE: ‘Bushiri church’ told to compensate families of stampede victims
This follows after three members of the congregation were trampled to death in a stampede at the church as people ran for shelter during a thunderstorm on 28 December 2018.
Regional leadership of the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) has called on Prophet Bushiri’s Enlightened Christian Gathering Church to give the families of the people who died in a stampede recently at least R1-million each in compensation.
“He must pay the families of the deceased,” Sanco regional chairperson Abram Mashisi told Rekord.
This follows after three members of the congregation were trampled to death in a stampede at the church as people ran for shelter during a thunderstorm on 28 December 2018. Nine other people were injured.
Mashishi’s call for the compensation came during the CRL Rights Commission’s hearing on Monday.
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The commission’s hearings follow after discrepancies about the stampede came to the fore during a meeting between the Tshwane metro, Sanco and the church.
Mashishi said at least R1-million in compensation was benchmarked in Judge Dikgang Moseneke’s ruling in the Life Esidemeni matter.
The retired deputy chief justice ruled that the provincial government should make financial reparations to the families of those who died after being moved into private care facilities.
A media report suggested that church leader Prophet Bushiri told the commission his church was in the process of working on a compensation package for the families.
However, church spokesperson Terrance Baloyi had yet to confirm the information to Rekord at the time of going to press but told Rekord “we’re leaving it in the hands of the commission”.
Outgoing Tshwane metro mayor Solly Msimanga is set to be one of the people appearing before the commission on Tuesday.
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