Residents in shock after a bomb scare

Bombs are unheard of in rural Limpopo villages.

On Sunday, residents of Tshirenzheni in the Siloam area outside Thohoyandou had a rude and shocking awakening when there were reports of a bomb at a local church, The Spirit Ambassador Church.

The church belongs to Apostle Stanley Radzilani, husband of the embattled Vhembe mayor, Cllr Florence Radzilani.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed the bomb scare, saying they had opened an enquiry after the incident. He said an informant had called them at 22:00 the previous night, saying a bomb might have been planted at the church by an unknown person.

"Members of the bomb-disposal unit were sent to the scene at around 08:00 in the morning and the place was thoroughly searched and thereafter declared safe. We have since launched an enquiry to investigate the alleged threats," said Mojapelo.

Meanwhile, strong suspicions are doing the rounds in the area that the bomb scare could be linked to the VBS debacle. Recently, the apostle's wife, Cllr Florence Radzilani, the deputy chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, was pointed out as having had a hand in the fact that more than R300 million belonging to Vhembe District Municipality was invested with the now-defunct VBS bank.

This came to light after the release of the Reserve Bank’s forensic report, dubbed the Great Bank Heist by Adv Terry Motau.

She is alleged to have asked for an increase in the R300 000 she was being offered for facilitating the massive investment. Since the release of the report, many calls have been made for her to resign from her position as mayor, but only the chief financial officer, Mr Nyiko Mchavi, and municipal manager Mr Reuben Rambado have been suspended for three months with full pay.

 The ANC integrity commission, headed by political stalwart and veteran Mr George Mashamba, met during the weekend and recommended that all implicated officials step aside from their positions and the activities of the ANC while investigations were underway.

Date:02 November 2018

By: 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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