VANDERBIJLPARK. – The Vanderbijlpark police managed to find and retrieve a motor vehicle of a pastor that was stolen from a church property on Friday 17 April.
Pastor Anthony Rode says he was busy packing food parcels destined for the needy on Friday afternoon when he discovered that his car had been stolen from the Sons of Fire Church in Vanderbijlpark.
“We were inside that church and the gate was closed. When I went out the building I noticed that the gate was open and the car was gone,” Anthony remembers.
Following the startling discovery he notified the police and also alerted friends, family and members of the community on social media to be on the look-out for his dark blue 2007 Ford Fiesta.
Anthony says he received a call from the police at 03:00 on Saturday 18 April, notifying him that his car had been found in Sharpeville.
Unfortunately the car was not found in the same condition.
Rode says: “When I eventually got to see my car at the impound I discovered that they had taken the hub cabs, tools, the spare wheel, they had taken everything out the car, including the wi-fi router, my keys for the house, my bag, a jacket worth R2 000.
“The one back tyre is flat and we are still not sure if they took anything from the engine as the bonnet was open when the police had found the vehicle.”
To make matters worse Rode says he had to fork out an additional R5 000 to have spare keys made and is currently unsure of the damage that has been done to the vehicle.
“The car is still at the impound and we don’t even know if the car is able to start,” says Anthony.
Luckily he was able to borrow the vehicle of his father who is currently locked down in the coastal town of Margate to do his charity work.
Speaking to Ster Anthony said that the incident will not deter him from helping out in the community.
Anthony and members of the church have been busy helping people who are unable to work with food parcels daily since the start of the lockdown.
“We are still going on with our work and we are not going to let this mess things up.”
According to Anthony it seems as if the suspects who had stolen the vehicle is still at large.