Two South Africans who have told the BBC that they will sue Prophet TB Joshua the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church for All Nations. The South Africans lost members of their family during the collapse of a building in the church premises in Lagos.
“I understand that some families are afraid to take on someone who purports to be God’s messenger and I don’t blame them but I will do this,” Thanduxolo Doro, whose sister died in the Lagos collapse said.
Thanduxolo Doro and Mpho Molebatsi waited at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport for days after the collapse for news of their sisters, who had been visiting SCOAN.
Both families had last heard from their relatives hours before the collapse.
“It is not that the building collapsed, rather what was done after the collapse – we didn’t get any news from the church,” Doro, whose sister Vathiswa Madikiza died, told the BBC.
“When I contacted them they wouldn’t tell me anything. We saw reports that emergency workers were denied access initially, access that could have saved lives. The actions of the church after the incident are very telling,” he said.
In an open letter published in South Africa’s Star newspaper, Doro called on more families to sue Joshua.
“I need to do this for her. Even if I stand alone, I am determined to see that something is done,” he told theBBC.
“I understand that some families are afraid to take on someone who purports to be God’s messenger and I don’t blame them but I will do this,” he said.
Doro said he was informed by South African officials about his sister’s death this week, but had to wait for the results of the DNA tests before her body could be repatriated for burial.
