Jericho impi attacks bishop

MBABANE – The Jericho feud has turned nasty as a group under Bishop Khanyakwezwe’s faction attacked Bishop Samson Hlatshwayo over the statements he made during the Ascension Day prayer.

Hlatshwayo is the President of the League of Churches and was engaged in a verbal showdown that resulted in one of the senior pastors allegedly man handling him.

The incident is said to have happened at a certain car wash in Matsapha in the afternoon on Saturday.
Hlatshwayo received a call from Sotsha Vilakati, a senior pastor of the Jericho Church under the Khanyakwezwe faction who asked him about the utterances he made during the Ascension Day celebrations held at Mbangweni a week ago.

Hlatshwayo is alleged to have said the Jericho issues were not being concluded because they were discussed ‘in the dark’. The Jerichos are said to have not taken kindly to the utterances such that some of the members wanted an explanation from Hlatshwayo on what he meant exactly.

The president is said not to have responded to the question but switched off his mobile phone. This happened while he was on his way to the car wash from Bhunya.
Hlatshwayo, when narrating his side of the story said when he got to the car wash, he saw a certain Mndzebele, also a pastor of the Jericho Church and greeted him.

He alleges that just after a few minutes, Khanyakwezwe, Sotsha and other members of the church arrived in a car, but Sotsha was the only one who alighted and approached him together with Mndzebele, who was standing at a distance from where he was.

“That is when he (Sotsha) questioned me about the utterances and the situation got a bit out of hand as he started poking me on the forehead. I was probably saved by the quick intervention of members of the public, in particular a certain gentleman who wished to remain anonymous,” he alleged.
All the while, Hlatshwayo alleged that Sotsha threatened to beat him up if he did stop his interference in the Jericho Church issues.

 “I was very angry because he was busy pocking me on the head. He even said they had requested a group of boys to ‘take care of me’. It is not the first time that I hear about such threats and I’m really scared for my life. Should anything happen to me, my family will know the truth,” he alleged. Mndzebele is alleged to have joined in, also threatening to assault the president.

Hlatshwayo said he later reported the matter to the Bhunya Police Station Commander but did not open a case against the Jericho members.
Sotsha, when giving his side of the story said Bishop Khanyakwezwe was in the car when the incident happened.
He alleged that the Jerichos were angered by the utterances he made at Mbangweni.
“Instead of preaching, he was busy talking about us. The whole Jericho impasse could have been long put to rest had it not been for him, he is derailing the whole process,” he alleged.

Police Assistant Public Relations Officer Inspector Stephen Dlamini confirmed that Hlatshwayo informed the Bhunya Station Commander about the matter but did not open a case against anyone at the moment.