PASTOR KILLED FOR CHURCH OFFERING

Jesus Saves Fellowship’s senior Pastor Sandile Sibandze was killed by gun-toting robbers.

MBABANE – A senior pastor at Jesus Saves Fellowship has died following an attack by armed robbers who were demanding church offerings on Friday morning.

Sandile Sibandze was attacked by the gun-toting robbers at his residence in Sterksrom, Manzini who demanded money. According to a family member, the man of the cloth died at the Medisun Clinic on Saturday afternoon, where he was being operated on.

During the attack and robbery, the pastor was severely hit on the head and body with a crow-bar and he bled profusely.

Monitoring

The pastor was attacked by three robbers, with one of them monitoring what was happening outside the house while the other two were inside the house.
Sibandze is said to have exited his bedroom to investigate what was happening within the yard as he had been awoken by strange sounds within the family compound.

“When he opened the door of his bedroom to investigate where the unfamiliar sounds were emanating from, he found two robbers who pointed a gun at him and demanded money,” the relative said.

The relative stated that Sibandze charged towards the robbers and overpowered the thug who was carrying the gun.
The thug is said to have tried to shot the pastor but missed.

It is said that while Sibandze was wrestling with the thug who was carrying the gun, he fell to the ground and in that midst, another burglar appeared and hit him on the neck with the crowbar.

“He tried to fight the thug off and I think the gunshot disturbed the other robber who then came in and hit the pastor with a crowbar on the neck, head and arm several times.  He fell to the ground and bled profusely,” the relative said.

Fighting

The family member narrated that while the thugs were fighting the pastor, his wife hid in their en-suite bathroom.
After defeating the man of the cloth, the bandits ransacked the bedrooms in search for money. Some of the children are said to have hidden in their bedroom wardrobe after being awoken by the gunshot.

They are said to have woken up the children and ordered the minors to direct them to where the money was.
“They woke the children and asked them if they had called the police. After that they ordered the children to direct them to where the money was,” said the relative.

The family member said they took one of the children to the pastor’s bedroom where they ordered her to show them where the money was.
“They ransacked the bedroom and emptied drawers and bags in search for money or anything valuable,” the family member said.

It was gathered that the pastor’s wife came of the bathroom, thinking that the robbers had left only to find that they were still in the bedroom.
 “When she came out of the bathroom, she found that they were still searching for the money. They then pointed the gun at her and demanded that she gives them money,” the relative said.

It is said she informed the robbers that there was no money in the house but they insisted that they would kill her if she thought they were joking. She then hastened and emptied her purse to give them a E100 note.

Demanded

The robbers are said to have demanded more money; but, were offered none. They then took two cellphones, a Nokia E5 and an Asha 210 and disappeared.
The family is said to have then called the police who are still investigating the case.

Sibandze was first admitted to Manzini Clinic before being transferred to Medisun Clinic where he died while undergoing treatment.
The pastor is survived by his wife and four children.

Police Assistant Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the robbery and said the police were hot on the heels of the robbers.

“Yes, a man died after he was severely beaten by armed robbers in Manzini.
“The police are investigating the matter and an arrest is yet to be made,” he said. Mamba said the thugs took two cellphones and E100 from the family residence.

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