Shayandima mourns casualties of Nigerian church disaster

The eventual closure of an agonizing and stressful chapter of waiting for the repatriation of the mortal remains and the burial of victims of the guest house accident at TB Joshua's headquarters in Nigeria was a mixture of emotions and celebration of lives lost while seeking God.

This was evident during the funeral of two members of the Tshivhase family of Shayandima, who died almost two months ago in a tragedy at TB Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations.

Ms Suzan Ramatsea ( 38) and Mr George Tshivhase (41) were among the 13 dead from the Limpopo province who were buried in different parts of the province at the weekend. Their bodies were handed over to their families in Polokwane last Monday.

The couple, who resided and worked in Polokwane, were buried in one grave after a service that took place at the packed Full Gospel Church in Shayandima. The funeral was attended by, among others, Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela, Executive Mayor Tshitereke Matibe, COGHSTA MEC Makoma Makhurupetja, senior members of the Tshivhase Royal family and many community members.

The service was conducted by Pastor Jannie Calitz of the Full Gospel Church in Polokwane.

All the speakers at the service commended the couple for having died while in search of more knowledge about God. On behalf of TB Joshua, Pastor Lamula Mabunda said the church was saddened by the incident and shared the pain the family was going through, but found solace in the fact that the two were not on holiday, but were praying with others. "They were at the right place and today they are saints and with God, feeling pain no more," said Mabunda.

Chief Muthungaapfe Tshivhase said the family was deeply saddened by the incident. "We are happy that the government made it possible for us to get back the bodies of our loved ones. These were the longest, most painful and agonizing two months of our lives. We have learnt a lesson that life is too short and that we should make the most of it while we are still alive," he said.

News - Date: 28 November 2014

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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