MAUNGANI - Tension is mounting within the March of Faith Revival Church (MFRC) at Maungani Village west of Thohoyandou, following the burning of the church structure on March 21.

According to the founder and church leader, Pastor Avhashoni Mulaudzi, the burning of the church is due to the jealousy of other church leaders who begrudge him his success.

Mulaudzi said that other church leaders were threatened by the huge following he enjoyed when his church was established in 1995. "The beginning of the MFRC was a powerful beginning with the awesome manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer meetings, services and revival meetings shook the community, a fact which threatened other churches," said Mulaudzi. He also added that he has received many death threats.

He also claimed that "jealous church members who were claiming that I was using the word of God to attack other people" once summoned him to the local council as the membership was increasing. "Many of the members in my church were threatened and some left, while others remained".

Mulaudzi said his six year-old daughter was poisoned at the age of four while he was attending his father’s funeral. On 21 January 2000, a man was caught burning poles which were meant for erecting a fence around the church.

In the same year the electricity cable was cut off and the church windows were broken. The last straw, he said, was the burning of the church. The roof, chairs and tables and windows were destroyed.

Although a case of arson was opened at the Thohoyandou Police station, no one had been arrested by the time of going to press. The church members, who were attending church inside a tent on Sunday, said there is no way that one will force them out of the church.

Police spokesperson Captain Ailwei Mushavhanamadi appealed to the community to supply information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect.