MEDIA RELEASE: ACDP – Condemn armed robbery during a church service in Centurion Sunday night.
1 December 2008
ACDP – Condemn armed robbery during a church service in Centurion Sunday night.
The
ACDP condemns the armed robbery during last Sunday night’s prayer
session at the Hatfield Christian Church South, in Clubview, Centurion.
This attack is a blatant violation of the human rights of the congregants and their freedom of religious expression.
A
Church meeting should be a time of worship, prayer and peaceful
fellowship. This stands in stark contrast to what transpired on
Sunday evening.
6 Armed robbers in balaclavas stormed the
premises Sunday evening shortly after the service started at 18:00 and
demanded wallets, jewellery and other valuables at gun point. They then
demanded the keys to the safe and when it was not available, locked the
traumatized congregants in one of the rooms adjoining the church hall.
We
view last night's incident - as well as other armed robberies that have
been violating the rights of so many other victims in South Africa - as
extremely serious. This type of criminal audacity can create the
impression that SA is ungovernable.
The
political objectives of the ANC many years ago were to make South
Africa ungovernable. Clearly some individuals with criminal intent are
still under the impression that they must continue to make the country
ungovernable.
The most effective deterrent to such
activities is when criminals know they will be swiftly apprehended,
tried, convicted and sentenced.
The ACDP's policy of restorative justice addresses punishment and individual responsibility for actions.
Our zero-tolerance strategy includes not granting bail for certain crimes including murder, rape, armed robbery and car hijackings.
We trust that the SAPS will apprehend these criminals sooner than later.
Issued by AnneMarie Sparg and Richard Dinkelmann ACDP Councillors Tshwane Metro Municipailty 079 498 6971 & 083 263 2664 www.acdp.org.za