ZION CHURCH BUILDING GOES UP IN FLAMES

MBABANE – The Canaan Church in Zion in Msunduza was gutted down by fire last night.

This happened barely six months after the senior pastor, Reverend Sam Dube, passed away. Dube was buried on April 18, 2015.
Everything inside the church, including more than 40 chairs and an altar, were burnt to ashes.  The church was made of wood and corrugated iron sheets.  Most of the corrugated iron sheets were not extensively damaged.

The cause of the fire is unknown but certain church members suspected that some people might have burnt down the church.  The building is located next to KaBoyce High School. Mgabhi Dlamini, the former Speaker, is a senior member of the church.

In an interview, the former Speaker said the fire was a mystery as they had not yet concluded if it was caused by a human being or an electric fault. He said the church started operating in the same premises 12 years ago. The church rented the premises.

Dlamini said there was, however, no internal dispute that could have caused disgruntled members to set the house of God on fire.
“Human beings will always suspect foul play when extraordinary things happen. When a person dies, it is common to hear people saying the deceased was bewitched. Likewise, it is natural that we suspect that this may be an arson attack,” he said.

Dlamini said some people confided in the elders of the church that they saw a person starting a fire next to the church. “We don’t know if what they tell us is true or not,” he said. He said the church has a membership of more than 50 people but the structure could accommodate more than 100 people. 

The former Ngwemphisi MP said they had no alternative place for worship, adding that the next step was to take a leaf from the Jehovah’s Witnesses who built a church structure in one day.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: