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OVER E700K CHURCH EQUIPMENT STOLEN THIS YEAR

29/12/2022 11:04:00 Nonduduzo Kunene

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MBABANE – Over E700 000 worth of sound systems have been stolen in churches this year.

Several churches parted ways with some of their valuable assets, which included sound equipment and cables, among other items, that were stolen at gunpoint or during break-ins. This past weekend, over five churches were broken into and sound systems stolen. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said since the beginning of 2022, they had recorded 21 cases of robberies that were committed in churches across the country. The most stolen items were sound equipment that included speakers, keyboards, drums and guitars, among others. She added that the value of the stolen equipment was over E700 000. Vilakati said they noted an increase in this kind of crime this year and it was not only in one location, but countrywide.

This past week, unknown people went to three churches in Matsapha and stole sound equipment worth over E150 000. The churches included Rest in Christ Ministries and Restoration of Christ Ambassadors International, both in Matsapha and located next to each other. There were also other churches in Mafutseni and Sigcaweni that were broken into where sound equipment was stolen. Another church at Siphofaneni reported stolen electric cables, where copper was believed to be extracted from them. Following the escalating cases of church robberies, Vilakati urged churches to improve their security to prevent the robberies. She stated that they noted that some churches did not have strong security, thus made it easy for thugs to break in and steal the equipment without being disturbed.

She also urged emaSwati, including churches, to stop buying sound equipment from random people. Vilakati said the reason the cases of this kind were escalating was due to the fact that some churches did not scrutinise the type of people they were buying from. By buying sound equipment from unauthorised dealers, Vilakati said it escalated the rate of the crime because thugs discovered the market for the stolen sound equipment.“Normalise buying from sound dealers or stores where receipts would be issued for every purchase you make,” she said.

Recover

Adding, Vilakati urged churches to mark their equipment so that they would easily identify it should the police recover some of the stolen items. She noted that some churches failed to recognise some of their stolen equipment because they could not produce tangible evidence that cemented that they indeed owned the items. She said the police were more than willing to assist churches and individuals on how they could mark their equipment in a manner that they would be able to identify it when stolen and recovered.

Meanwhile, some of the pastors stated that the escalating cases of robberies and break-ins in churches would make churches inaccessible. According to one of the men of the cloth who raised the alarm this past weekend, Pastor Phetsa Dlamini said the incidents will deplete the entire purpose of a church. Dlamini said a church should be a place that was open for everyone in the community. He said due to the crimes committed against churches, it would be hard to easily welcome people into churches, but there would be too much scrutiny that might even chase people away from the house of the Lord. “Every member of the community should have the responsibility to protect the church because of the role it plays to human beings,” he said.

He said he noted that people were saying the robberies were caused by the high employment rate as well as the flashy lifestyle shown in some churches. He disputed all the theories and said some of the churches that were victims of crime were not flamboyant. Another pastor who was a victim, Enock Dlamini, urged his colleagues to stop buying their sound equipment from random people who did not have proof of ownership as it fuelled the crime. He said the only crime they were familiar with was the stealing of offerings by thugs, not church sound equipment.