Pastors' Forum ask God to intervene in Vhembe

Overwhelmed by the ills that are plaguing society –violent crimes in all their evil forms, coupled with the lack of service delivery by government departments - Christians and pastors under the umbrella of the Vhembe Pastors’ Forum met at the Charis Missionary Church at Makwarela in Sibasa on Saturday, 23 July, for a day of prayer, where all of these challenges were brought to God.

Several prayer sessions were held for the various ills confronted by communities. Special prayers were done for politicians and the mayors from the different municipalities, including the family of the late Collins Chabane mayor, Cllr Moses Maluleke, who was shot and killed at his home on Thursday, 21 July.

The prayer meeting was also attended by the mayor of the Vhembe District, Cllr Dowelani Nenguda, Thulamela Mayor Sarah Rammbuda, and ANC Vhembe’s regional chairperson, Mr Baldwin Matibe, who is also a provincial executive council member.

One of the organisers of the prayer meeting, Doctor Alunamutwe Randitsheni, a very outspoken cleric who led many anti-ritual murder marches around the Vhembe region years ago, stated that things were out of control in South Africa. “Our country is deeply adrift and in crisis. Yet, as servants of the Lord, we are conspicuous by our silence or minimal response. It is a sad reality that so much evil is taking place in South Africa, particularly in the Vhembe District where we are located. It has been a year of gender-based violence, killings, ritual killings, femicide, bullying in schools, robberies, break-ins, rape, child trafficking, corruption and minimal service delivery by our municipalities,” he said.

Pastor Prince Ramahala added that numerous problems were affecting communities, such as the lack of water, load-shedding and load-reduction, potholed roads, and many others. “There are mass killings taking place at taverns at the moment, which may even draw toward the churches. As pastors, we cannot just look on as if nothing is wrong. We need God’s intervention as of now, and that is the reason behind the prayer meeting,” he said.

Executive Mayor Nenguda, who was still on crutches after a serious car accident recently, said the prayer session was just what the doctor ordered. “I am still under doctor’s care, as you can see, but today I am feeling much better. It is like I received the best counselling. As government officials, we also need prayers for our safety and service delivery to our people,” he said before outlining their achievements, shortfalls and plans as government.

Date:07 August 2022

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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