“I am not a killer” - pastor

A respected 80-year-old pastor of the local Khubvi ZCC, Pastor Mmbengeni Sigovho, whose photograph was erroneously placed on the front page of last week’s Limpopo Mirror, said that he forgave the paper for the mistake.

In our report regarding a Mozambican citizen, George Mbalane (41), who had allegedly chopped his wife to death with a panga, Mirror used Sigovho’s photograph by mistake and stated that he was one of the alleged killers.

In an interview with Limpopo Mirror, Sigovha said that the previous week had been the worst week of his life. “Since I appeared in the paper and was labelled a Mozambican who had allegedly killed his wife, life has been hell for me, with people calling me all sorts of bad names. The thing is that a killing happened at my late sister's house that I had asked the foreign national to look after,” he added.

He stated that he want to put it on record that he was not a killer and would never do that. “I am a happily married man, who is married to a lovely and supportive wife, Sarah. We have been married for more than 55 years. We had six children, but the firstborn passed on and we are left with five, who are all grown up," he said. He added that he was a God-fearing man and would never hurt a fly.

Sigovho said that as a church pastor, he upheld the best family values and led by example. "I love my wife and children, and what happened last week nearly tore the family apart. Since the report appeared with my picture, I received so many calls enquiring about it.” He mentioned that his children were fuming and wanted clarity, “but I told them it was just a terrible mistake. On Sunday, when I went to church, it became worse as church members were waiting to see the ‘killer’. I had to make lots of explanations to clear the air.”

His wife Sarah (70) said she was also very disturbed to learn that she had been killed by her own husband. "Bad rumours spread like wildfire. We had to endure calls from all over the country.”  She said that at first she was very angry, "but my husband explained to me that mistakes do happen in life. I am just happy that those who know this family and the local community know that it was just one of those terrible mistakes."

Pastor Sigovho said that he had had a good, open-hearted discussion with the reporter of Limpopo Mirror, who explained the mishap to him. “As a man of God I cannot nurture a grudge and I see it as an honest mistake. Therefore I forgave them,” he added.

The management of the paper again apologised for the incident and thanked the pastor for his goodwill and understanding.

According to him, some mischievous youths called him “pangaman” at the church on Sunday.

Date:13 October 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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