This is not the time to lay blame but a time to unite

South Africa is in mourning.

The killing of more than 60 of our citizens in the devastating collapse of a multistorey guest house at ''prophet'' TB Joshua's megachurch in Lagos is one of the country's worst peacetime tragedies.

The disaster is all the more awful because the lost souls were pilgrims, in search of salvation or cures from their ailments at the hands of the world-renowned televangelist who claims to be a miracle worker.

The recriminations are flying thick and fast: Joshua has bizarrely attempted to finger terror group Boko Haram for the collapse - pointing to a mysterious aircraft that was circling the church minutes beforehand - while officials on the ground have said the construction of the guesthouse was faulty and that church members were hampering rescue efforts.

The paucity of information on the scope of Friday's disaster and the inordinate delays in making it available to South African officials is incredibly frustrating, no doubt compounding the grief of the bereaved families - and the anxiety of those still waiting to hear whether their loved ones have survived.

Even in the worst of times there is hope and news yesterday of a young South African pilgrim who had been pulled out from underneath a mountain of rubble, after spending five days sipping water trickling from a broken pipe, embodies that hope.

Seventeen of her compatriots were still unaccounted for yesterday.

Tragedies of this magnitude have a tendency to focus the national consciousness, to act as a unifying force.

They can render utterly meaningless the petty political bickering and mud-slinging that, these days, seems to pass for debate in our National Assembly. They can also have the effect of helping us to rediscover our humanity.

Instead of prematurely apportioning blame we need to unite in paying tribute to the fallen by supporting their loved ones in their grief and helping the survivors to heal.