Frustrated Phiphidi community burn down pastor's shop

Residents of Phiphidi, frustrated with the rise in violent crime in their community, unleashed their anger and burnt down a shop owned by a local pastor. The incident happened on Tuesday, 26 March, at around 17:30.

Recently, the village has experienced an upsurge in violent crimes such as armed robberies, car hijackings, and murders, where the thugs attack the victims mostly at their homes and during the night. The list of those attacked is endless, and residents say local people who know the targets very well are the culprits. Several community meetings were held to seek ways to stop the tide, but nothing seems to work as crime keeps on rising.

Information coming through from the community indicates that the incident is linked to a crime that happened in the village last week, where criminals robbed a retired educator of his bakkie, cash, and three phones after hitting him with a blunt object on the head. The thugs tied up the injured man before fleeing the scene. Sources in the community who did not want to be named said that the spaza shop of Pastor Asihashu Munzhedzi had been identified as the launching pad from where the criminals meet and plan the crimes.

Mr Rudzani Jonathan Mathelemusa, who is the secretary of the Phiphidi royal council, confirmed that crime has increased in the area. “In this community, we are having our hands full in dealing with crime. I have heard that a shop was burnt, but I have no details. As the leadership, we are still going to dig deep into the matter to find out what prompted the incident. We will also have to meet the owner to get his side of the story. A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 28 March, where the incident and other related issues will be discussed,” he said.

Pastor Asihashu Munzhedzi denied any involvement in crimes and expressed his shock. “I was at the shop at around 17:30 when the mob arrived. They said they were looking for a local man, Mulisa Kholophe, who is a regular customer, but he was not there. Out of the blue, they started turning everything upside down and ended up burning my shop. I have nothing to do with crime. I am a man of God who is also trying to turn criminals from their bad ways,” he said.

Pastor Munzhedzi suspects that his competitors were behind the incident, causing more than R100,000 in damage, including stock. He expressed his frustrations as one of his assistants will lose his job. He said that charges would be laid at the nearest police station.

News - Date: 28 March 2024

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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