"Divine intervention is the only thing that can bring a solution to the problem of escalating crime in our communities. You can build countless prisons and lock up the criminals, but you will never succeed if you don’t eradicate the root and main cause of crime. Crime is caused by evil spirits, which need the powerful intervention of prayer for permanent destruction."

This is a warning from a prominent Limpopo clergyman, Bishop Obert Ramabulana of the Apostolic Unity Church. He was responding to the violent death of one of his church members who was repeatedly raped and murdered at Tshilavuvu village, outside Tshilamba, two weeks ago. "If we want to get rid of crime totally, we must first destroy the evil spirits which serve as emissaries of the devil. These are the spirits that force people to commit crimes. If we defeat these spirits, we can celebrate and become proud victors of the war against crime."

Ramabulana added: "Imagine a person shedding innocent blood for no reason. No one is allowed to take away life because it is a precious gift from God. When a person kills, rapes or steals, there is a commanding voice inside his or her heart that forces him or her to do the evil thing. How can a normal person rape his own daughter without his conscience warning him? That voice that is in control belongs to the evil spirits and the victim cannot object to it without the power of prayer."

Ramabulana says even the people who commit ritual murder are commanded by the same evil spirits. "They commit ritual murder, feed and drink human blood because of these evil spirits. The only thing that the community must realize is that if we defeat these evil spirits, the demons of crime will no longer terrorize our communities like they are doing on a daily basis."

Ramabulana finally calls on everyone to get involved in spiritual intervention against the escalating crime. "Politicians alone cannot win this war. Jail cells will never be the answer and mob justice will never be the solution. Unless the government of the day allows the power of the Holly Spirit to take charge, we will blame crime until the end of the world. It now rests upon our shoulders to allow the Power of God to rescue us in this situation."