Bishop ‘receiving death threats’

Security around Anglican Bishop of Pretoria Bishop Jo Seoka has been beefed up following repeated death threats that might be linked to the murder of one of his lay chaplains.

Four armed men on Tuesday went to Seoka’s home and threatened to kill him and his wife, warning that they knew of his whereabouts even if he tried to hide.

They visited his home twice on Tuesday and have since made repeated phone calls to his home threatening to kill him.

This follows reports that some church members and people close to Ntombekhaya September, who was a renowned businesswoman, had been receiving blank and often confusing e-mails from her e-mail address.

On Thursday night Seoka played down allegations that the threats might be related to September’s death. She was found killed in her home in Waterkloof last year. .

Seoka was the first person to arrive at her home and called the locksmith to open up the house.

She had been unreachable for several days and her domestic help was unable to enter the house.

What they discovered inside the house was shocking - her body lying face down on her bed without any signs of struggle.

Police have since declared that she was murdered and are looking for a Congolese national who they believe holds the key to solving the murder. The e-mails are either blank or they contain links to sites unlikely to be associated with the late lay chaplain, including websites that sell sexual performance enhancers.

The men also made remarks that indicated they might be tracking down the esteemed church leader as further threats were made after the police had visited Seoka’s home.

Speaking to the Pretoria News, Seoka

said: “I have not done anything stupid or anything to provoke anybody.

“We have tried to identify who our enemy might be but we cannot come up with anybody.

“They have phoned here a number of times and repeated those (death) threats.

“They have also said they know where I am and where I will be, but my schedule is published by the church for all to know anyway.

“We suspect they have been following us because after the police came here, they said now that we have informed the cops about them, we must try to be safe and sleep well,” he said.

Seoka said he had also been told about the e-mails that had been circulating but had not received any of them personally.

“I have been told of these e-mails. People are also saying these threats might be related to the murder but I do not want to believe that,” he said.

Seoka seemed unfazed by the threats but it appears his colleagues in the church are more worried about his safety and that of his family. They have informed the Gauteng police commissioner about the threats.

Seoka’s security has since been intensified amid fears that the suspects might attempt to act on their threats.

“At the moment, we have no information about who is behind these threats or their motives,” said the SA Council of Churches, of which Seoka is the president.

“However, we recognise that Bishop Seoka has long been an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice.

“He is also a courageous opponent of corruption and unethical business practices in his capacity as a leader of the ecumenical movement.

“We cannot take these threats lightly because we know that clergy are often vulnerable.

“We have been shocked and saddened by past incidents in which clergy and church leaders have been murdered,” the council said.

Brooklyn police station commissioner Brigadier Andre Wiese was not yet aware of the threats made to the bishop but said police were hot on the trail of the man they were looking for after September’s murder.

He said they were aware of the reported e-mails sent from her e-mail address, and were investigating them.

The wanted man apparently works for a security company, sells clothes and fixes computers.

He is a Congolese national with a Mozambican passport and goes by several aliases - Jojo, Eddie, Edward, James, Edge or Kalambikwa and uses the surname Worth or Mpoyi.

Asked whether he had beefed up his security, all Seoka would say was “the Lord is my Shepherd”. - Pretoria News