arson – praag.org

Arsonists create more sympathy for African Americans

In the week after nine people were shot dead at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, five churches with predominantly black congregations in five Southern American states burned. Three of the fires were being investigated as arson.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are working with local authorities to find those who set them.

The church fires come days after police say Dylann Roof, 21, shot and killed nine people during a prayer service on June 17 at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, including the church’s pastor. Roof has been charged with nine counts of homicide and possession of a firearm.

Since the shooting, lawmakers and civil rights leaders have been focused on banning the Confederate flag. Now authorities are looking into the recent church fires at predominantly black churches, which the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group that tracks hate crimes, reports “may not be a coincidence.”

Though the recent cases are not being investigated as hate crimes, motives remain unclear.

Amid last week’s fires, the Atlantic’s Emma Green inciting more racial strife when she wrote that such incidents are “often association with racial violence: a highly visible attack on a core institution of the black community, often done at night, and often motivated by hate.”

The fires may very well have been started by black activists trying to create sympathy for themselves.

“But no matter why they happened,” Green added as if trying to absolve such arsonists, “these fires are a troubling reminder of the vulnerability of our sacred institutions in the days following one of the most violent attacks on a church in recent memory.”

Israel sets free Jewish settlers after arson attack on Christian church

A group of young Jewish settlers suspected of torching the Catholic Church of the Multiplication, on the spot where Jesus is believed to have performed a Biblical miracle, have been released without charge.

The church, located on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, was set ablaze early Thursday morning. Graffiti saying, “The false gods will be eliminated,” in Hebrew – a quote from a Jewish prayer – was also daubed on a wall.

The church was marking the Biblical story of the Feeding of the 5,000, in which Jesus fed a crowd with five loaves and two fish, and has been rebuilt several times since the fifth century.

The building suffered extensive damage, with the roof partly collapsed and stone walls charred. Several members of the clergy suffered smoke inhalation, and one 80-year-old monk was reportedly hospitalized. The altar of the Catholic church is said to have been left intact, despite the damage to its other rooms. A church shop with Bibles and prayer books was completely destroyed in the fire.

Sixteen Jewish youths visiting the area from the West Bank were detained for questioning following the arson. The group, which included several seminary students and legal minors, were set free with no conditions after their testimonies were taken.

Church set alight out of spite

Officials at the Central Methodist Church in the Joburg city centre believe that the fire at the building was the work of disgruntled members.

The church’s superintendent minister, Reverend Ndumiso Ncombo, said residents had set a room alight to spite church officials who gave them notice to move out.

“I wasn’t surprised when the fire started because the residents threatened to burn the building down when we gave them notice to move out,” he said. “We have opened a case of arson with the police.”

The fire last week Wednesday was started in one of the rooms, just a floor down from the church hall.

The small room where the fire was believed to have started lies in ruins, with clothes, groceries and broken glass from the shattered windows spread across the wet floor. Several large buckets, bottles and fire extinguishers lie outside the room.

After the fire was put out, residents were forced to evacuate the building.

The building, situated in the city centre, has acted as a haven for foreigners and destitute people who are desperate for a place to stay.

Since it opened its doors to the public almost 50 years ago, it has housed thousands of people at a time, especially during xenophobic flare-ups.

But now, the depilated building is a shadow of its former self. A strong stench of urine fills the graffiti-filled corridors and litter is spread across the broken floorboards. Makeshift housing structures are erected throughout the building, including on the staircases, in storage rooms and in the church hall where the thousands of residents once slept.

Ncombo said that although the sole reason for the mass evacuation was to renovate because the building was not safe to live in, the residents’ behaviour had also been a point of contention.

“We’ve found many of them selling and keeping large amounts of dagga and nyaope. They also used to vandalise the building; anything with steel or copper was stolen.”

Source: IOL

Foreigners targeted in Ledig violence

Irate residents of Ledig near the Sun City resort outside Rustenburg, refused to allow North West Local Government MEC Collen Maine to speak to them on Wednesday.

“We could not allow the MEC to speak. We agreed yesterday (Tuesday) that all arrested people must be released by 10am (Wednesday), before the MEC address us,” said community leader Pakaza Mdluli.

Residents have waged a week-long protest over alleged missing tribal funds. A number of protesters have been arrested during the protests which centre on the alleged mismanagement of some R527 million of tribal and community funds.

“The issue about DJ (Ditsele Phologoane, the chairman of the Bakubung Economic Development Unit) is not paramount. The key demand is for all arrested people to be released,” Mdluli said.

After the failed meeting, some residents chanted:” Phanzi Phologoane, Phanzi” (down Phologoane, down), and as some headed home, a group of youngsters went to barricade the road. The police fired rubber bullets to disperse them.

Some residents now fear the protests will soon spiral out of control.

” If this toyi-toyi does not end now, criminal elements would use it to advance their activities. People will be killed all in the name of protest,” said Eugene Ngima, 60.

He said parents were afraid to send children to school.

“Will we be proud if our children failed at the end of the school year?” he asked.

“This burning of houses and shops must end now before more people are hurt.”

A shop was burnt down on Tuesday night, at the Ledig small industry, another shop was torched at the weekend and four foreign-owned shops were looted.

House near Zeerust burnt down in witchcraft incident

Motswedi police near Zeerust have arrested twelve suspects on charges of Public Violence and Malicious damage to property on 13 December 2013 at Lobatla village.

It is alleged that the community members went to Lobatla Tribal office and complained about a man whom they alleged to have bewitched another community member who died a week ago. After the alleged death of the community member no case was registered with the police. Police were also invited to the meeting to address the community.

It is alleged that after the police had left, the community went to the victim’s house and burnt it to ashes. According to the information, the victim and his family were not at their house at the time of the incident, and estimated costs to the damaged property could be not be established. The suspects will appear in the Lehurutshe Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 17 December 2013.

The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo has condemned the unruly behaviour of some members involved in the crime committed. “There is no way in which the police will allow people to take the law into their own hands. People must always report incidents to the police and leave the law to take its cause” said the General Mbombo.

Irate blacks burn down municipal councillor’s house

Residents of Soshanguve, a black township northwest of Pretoria, have burnt down a municipal councillor’s house, according to the South African Police Service.

“The fight erupted after metro police removed people who were occupying RDP houses illegally,” said Colonel Noxolo Kweza of SAPS. “They also threw stones at councillor Maribishi Morotola’s vehicle on Tuesday.

Morotola’s family almost perished in the fire as they were still inside the house when it was set alight but were apparently rescued by neighbours.

A spokesman for the Tshwane metropolitan municipality (greater Pretoria area), Cedric Maluleke, stated that the house of its employee, community liaison officer Bernard Khoza, was also set alight.

“They accused Morotola and Khoza of selling RDP houses instead of correctly allocating them to families whose names are on the housing waiting list,” Maluleke said.

Apparently, both Morotola and Khoza have been provided with alternative accommodation and security, according to Maluleke.

The provincial MEC for Human settlements, Ntombi Mekgwe, the behaviour of Soshanguve residents by saying: “This trend of burning buildings is not going to help the situation. We are not going to give in to people who use hooliganism to raise their grievances when they are even in the wrong.”

No arrests have been made yet.

East Rand: Thousands loot, torch as shooting sparks xenophobia

Thousands of East Rand residents shut down their schools and ordered children to loot and torch stores belonging to foreigners.

Four teenagers were critically injured in shootouts with foreign shop owners on Thursday and a fifth youth was severely assaulted.

The bloodshed erupted in Duduza township late on Wednesday when a Somali shop owner shot a 17-year-old boy during an argument over a R5 cellphone airtime voucher. Unconfirmed reports say the youth died. Police are investigating but could not verify the reports.

The shooting sparked outrage, sending thousands of people onto the streets.

The unrest spread to the neighbouring Tsakane township, where people torched homes, destroyed vehicles and forced scores of Somalis, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to flee.

People armed with knobkerries and iron bars set fire to businesses before converging on schools, forcing teachers to flee and dragging children out of classrooms. They were said to be forcing schoolchildren to join in the violence.

Riot police rushed to restore order as the rampaging mob, splitting into small groups, went through the townships “hunting” for foreigners.

“We are going to kill them . We are going to burn everything they have and take what they cannot run away with,” screamed Tsakane resident Nomhle Mbatha, as her neighbour, Hassan Ali, rushed to load his shop’s stock onto a bakkie.

“They come here and steal our jobs and now they are killing our children,” said Mbatha. “We will not allow this. The police do nothing and the government is nowhere.”

Ali’s brother, Mohammed, tears streaming down his face, pleaded with the police to protect their shop: “If you don’t, they will burn everything. We did not cause this. We are innocent. I am sorry that boy was shot, but why punish us? We didn’t do this.

“We help these people. Just there we have a soup kitchen where we feed the old people and the children,” he said. As Ali pleaded for help, fresh reports of looting and burning came over police radios.

For Mohamad Yusuf, the police arrived too late.

“I have lost everything. There was a clinic here, owned by South Africans, but even that is destroyed. Why are they doing this?’ he said. “People are cross with foreigners because this boy was shot, but what are we meant to do? The police are nowhere. They don’t help the South Africans and they don’t help us.

“Everyone is suffering. Look at the children who were shot today. They attacked our shops and businesses, what must we do?

“We have to defend ourselves. They were trying to kill us,” Yusuf said as police guarded firefighters battling to douse the fire destroying his shop.

Ekurhuleni disaster and emergency services spokesman William Ntladi confirmed that four teenagers had been shot and critically injured and a fifth severely assaulted.

“We deployed dozens of firefighters and paramedics. As we were putting out fires, more were started. Cars, houses, a shopping complex and numerous businesses were torched. We are expecting more trouble and have additional personnel on standby,” he said.

Police spokesman Captain Johannes Ramphara described the situation as chaotic.

“It is total lawlessness . We thought it would calm down but residents continued breaking up into groups, closing schools and forcing children onto the streets.”

He said five people had been arrested and police were investigating cases of public violence, intimidation and attempted murder. – timeslive.co.za

Arson attack in Johannesburg city centre

A case of arson is being investigated after a fire claimed the lives of three adults and a baby in the Johannesburg CBD, eNews Channel Africa reported on Sunday.

Police spokeswoman Sibongile Mnguni said police suspected that the fire could have been started deliberately on Saturday.

No arrests had been made by Sunday evening.

Mnguni said that the bodies of two adults and a baby were found in the gutted block of flats, on the corner of Jeppe and Nugget Streets.

A fourth person, who jumped from the building to escape the blaze, died before arriving at hospital. – Sapa

Five blacks arrested for burning five others to death

Five people have been arrested for allegedly setting fire to a home in which five people died near Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Monday.

Captain Thulani Zwane said the five, aged between 19 and 36, were arrested on Sunday morning and were expected to appear in the Eshowe Magistrate’s court on Tuesday on charges of murder.

Thulani said four houses in a homestead in the Mbongolwane area were set alight on Saturday night.

Thulisile Mnyango, 50, Cebile Mnyango, 21, Lungelo Mnyango, 17, Mlamuli Mnyango, 10, and two-year-old Qiniso Mnyango, died in one of the houses.

The motive for the attack was unknown. – Sapa

Strikers attack truck and driver

torched_truck_N12b — Torched truck on the East Rand, N12 motorway

A truck driver and two other people were in hospital on Thursday after their truck was torched on the N12, Ekurhuleni metro police said.

“The driver and his two co-drivers were seriously injured…. The three were battered by angry mob of striking truck drivers,” said spokesman Superintendent Vusi Mabanga.

The attackers ran away and no arrests were made.

Striking truck drivers have been accused of violence and intimidation since the strike began.

On Wednesday, two trucks were set alight and another was stoned in Cape Town.

Talks to end the strike collapsed on Thursday when unions rejected a third offer.

Drivers wanted a 12 percent salary increase, while employers offered 8.5 percent for next year, and another 0.5 percent the following year. – Sapa