THE killing of another human being needs to be condemned at all levels.
This is according to Sister Dominica Mkhize of Assisi Convent, Port Shepstone who has spoken out about the murder of Sister Gertrud Stefanie Tiefenbacher (87).
“All doers of such evil deeds have to be taught by punishment so that whoever may think of repeating the same in the future may get a lesson,” said Sr Dominica.
Austria-born Sr Stefanie, was found dead on the floor next to her bed in her room at the Sacred Heart Convent in Ixopo on April 19.
This week Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe found Sbongiseni Phungula, 25, and Mondli Shozi, 26, guilty of murder, rape and aggravated robbery.
According to a report which appeared in The Citizen Hadebe said it was common knowledge that the two men had gone into the convent with the intention of stealing food from the nun’s room.
As the men were helping themselves to groceries, the nun, who had not been in her room suddenly arrived. They tied a towel around her neck and bound her hands with a typewriter cord.
“Each of them had sex with the nun as she lay on the floor before going to the kitchen and taking grocery items and a vacuum cleaner. They also removed the nun’s watch from the bedroom,” Hadebe said.
Sr Dominica said the tragic death of Sister Stefanie has traumatised the entire Catholic Church terribly. She added that the nuns in particular are deeply saddened at the gross disrespect for life in our country, to the extent, that harmless people like sisters become targets.
She said that as religious people their mission is the conversion of sinners so that all may one day come back to God their Creator; but if people continue destroying God’s work of art like is happening, that cannot be tolerated.
She said that the killing of Sr Stefanie by ‘our own local people’ is sad and that such ingratitude after how much foreign missionaries have done for local people is ‘shocking’.
“We will continue preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in season and out of season even in the midst such opposition and open rejection like this incident,” she said.
“It is so embarrassing that young black people are associated with crimes of this nature, it is an insult to all of us black South Africans. We are portrayed as savages.”
Sr Dominica continued, saying that after having been given enlightenment by these missionaries, and gained freedom ‘through the many who laid down their lives for all of us, we deserve more than these bad names’.
“South Africans must learn to be grateful! God asks only this for you: ‘Act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God’. (Micah 6:8).”
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