Hope for return of loved ones

Nigerian rescue workers search the rubble from the guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos which collapsed on September 12. File photo: EPA/STR

Nigerian rescue workers search the rubble from the guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos which collapsed on September 12. File photo: EPA/STR

Published Oct 26, 2014

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Johannesburg - It has been a harrowing six weeks wait for the family of Dickie and Dennis Ngcobo to bury their loved ones who perished along with 116 others in the tragedy at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria on September 12.

A spokesman for the of the Durban North family Mduduzi Praise God Mabaso said: “It has been hard and emotional bruising, but it is… reality and a phase that we can’t change.

“Therefore, we have to bear it at all cost – no matter how emotionally taxing it is,” said

The couple were founders of the Ukhuphila Wellness Centre in the city, which cares for chronically ill patients.

A total 81 South Africans plus three Zimbabweans and a Congolese national with South African passports died in the tragedy.

“It is hard when both parents go at the same time the way they did. It’s devastating. They were decision-makers in the family. So, there is obviously a vacuum. It will take time to bring life back to normality and return stability to the family. But, at last, closure appears to be within reach.

“It going to be a long process, one which needs guidance from the Holy Spirit and a high level of maturity from the family as what happened was unexpected and extraordinary,” says Mabaso.

Now there is a glimmer of hope that their long wait to bury their loved ones is nearing the end.

The family’s hopes were lifted when Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, said on Thursday that tests on the DNA samples from the bodies had started at a Stellenbosch laboratory.

He said the SA Police Service had already collected the necessary samples from the relatives of the deceased.

Mabaso says but for the emotional support from especially the family church, Kingdom Embassy International, led by apostle LV Mahlangu, the family’s pain at having to wait so long to bury their loved ones would have been “unbearable beyond human capacity, especially for the young ones”. The couple have 10 children, the youngest only 17.

“We are thankful to the daily prayer visits by the church, relatives, friends, colleagues and the Christian family at large.

“The regular visits by government officials are also humbling, and make a huge difference. Visits by the Synagogue Church of All Nations for emotional and spiritual support also bring about the much-needed strength to endure the hard times as we wait indefinitely,” says Mabaso.

He says government representatives regularly visited the families to inform them about developments regarding the repatriation process.

“The government is doing all they can within their powers. We understand, as government says, that the process is entirely in the hands of the Nigerian authorities. And we enjoy maximum support from the Scoan.”

The family has not discussed the possibility of joining class action proposed by others to sue TB Joshua for negligence.

“The matter has not even come up. Right now our main concern is to bring back the bodies for a deserved burial and find closure. I doubt the family will even go that route (suing). It will not bring back their loved ones,” said Mabaso.

DA spokesman for International Relations and Co-operation, Stevens Mokgalapa has called on the government to support the families if they decide to press ahead with the civil suit against the church.

“We recognise the fact that government is preoccupied with repatriation of bodies for burial, hence the matter cannot be addressed until then, we await the Nigerian commission of inquiry report to see what its findings are.

“We believe that the church acted negligently,” said Mokgalapa.

He said the party recognised that Nigeria was a sovereign state with its own jurisprudence but believed the families could approach the Nigerian courts, and that the South African government should support their action by offering diplomatic and legal assistance for families.

Government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said the government’s main priority was to bring back the bodies for burial and help the families find closure – it had not considered the possibility of the suggested civil suit. “As we speak, there are not even death certificates for the deceased,” she said.

The family has taken to heart Radebe’s sympathetic message on Thursday, in which he declared the government’s commitment to bringing home the mortal remains of all the worshippers.

“We know that with each passing day the waiting becomes more difficult especially for the directly affected families,” said the minister.

Radebe said the government could not say when the process of identifying the deceased through DNA tests would be finalised as it was in the hands of the Nigerians.

The High Commission of Nigeria could only say that the two governments were collaborating and would provide an update when necessary.

Yesterday, the church’s local representative, Kirsten Nematandani, confirmed that five of the survivors who were evacuated to South Africa last month, and another person who helped in the rescue effort, had returned to Nigeria to testify in the commission of enquiry into tragedy.

They were invited by the church, which is covering their costs. The commission started on Friday.

Again on Friday, the church announced a R50 000 donation towards the funeral expenses of each of the victims.

Meanwhile, the government inter-ministerial task team on the Nigeria tragedy has published an elaborate plan outlining the procedures to be followed once the bodies are released for repatriation – from fetching them, preparing them for the journey back home, to transporting them and hosting a formal reception at Air Force Waterkloof; to be attended by family members and invited dignitaries only.

Sunday Independent

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