Patriotic Alliance leaders Kenny Kunene and Gayton McKenzie believe pastor Dwayne Gordon, who was shot dead at a church where he was a guest preacher last week, may have been the target of a hit.
Gordon was killed on Friday by armed gunmen who stormed the Eagle Christian Church in Newlands in Johannesburg shortly after he took the podium.
Without giving further details, Kunene told a Johannesburg radio station on Monday they would allow investigations to proceed before elaborating. The PA offered a reward for anyone providing information that could lead to an arrest because Gordon was a party member.
“We have received a credible lead that may prove useful for the investigation but cannot speak on details as it may compromise the case. We have, however, contacted the authorities in the interests of justice,” the PA said.
“Gang violence has turned our streets into bloodbaths. We cannot allow our churches to also become war zones.”
Two church congregants were wounded in Friday's attack, parts of which were captured on the church's Facebook livestream.
A widely shared video of the incident showed Gordon, who was thanking the hosting pastor for allowing him to minister to the congregation, being accosted by the suspects.
He begins to move away from the pulpit and a clicking sound of a gun can be heard. Some congregants start screaming while others begin praying, calling on “the blood of Jesus” as a gunshot goes off.
Family and friends of Gordon are grappling to come to terms with his death.
He was a humble servant of God who “wouldn’t hurt a fly” and wanted to see other people progressing in life, said his friend Justin Sengoatsi.
Sengoatsi, who is also a pastor, said he considered Gordon his close brother.
“He was my closest friend. It is tough and given the manner he passed it is so painful.
We are a small family, we grew up in church, and that's where we found our happiness
— Pastor Dwayne Gordon's sister Nicole
“The family has asked us to assist with burial and funeral services. We are putting up a brave face for the family because they have asked us to assist. We are looking for strength and putting our trust and faith in God to carry us through.”
Sengoatsi said he usually went to different churches with Gordon to preach but on Friday he had not gone to this service with him.
“It was the first time [he was here]. He never ministered there before,” he said of the pastor he had known for the past four years.
Gordon's sister Nicole said her brother usually received invites from churches in Gauteng and the Western Cape and confirmed it was his first time at this church.
She said the family were in pain and their mother was struggling to accept that her son was gone.
“We are a small family, we grew up in church, and that's where we found our happiness.”
She said her relationship with her brother was often about the Bible and discussing the scriptures, adding that he would often make jokes at home.
“Dwayne and my mother had a close relationship, they were very close, it is very hard on her, she is not coping at all. They really loved each other. Yes, we had a relationship and we loved each other but he was very close to my mom,” she said.
She added that over the past few days they sometimes woke up and hoped it was just a dream and that they would see him in the house.
“The reality is he is not here. We are going through emotions every day,” she said.
Gordon is one of several pastors who have recently come face to face with the barrel of a gun while on the pulpit.
In June, John Myaka, a KwaZulu-Natal ACDP councillor and pastor, was shot dead while preaching at eNseleni township.
In July, another robbery occurred at a KwaZulu-Natal church. This was also captured on a livestream. Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) said the livestream from a church on Spring Road in Tea Estate, Durban, was viewed in South Africa and India as five armed suspects stormed the church.
“They held up members of the congregation. The robbers made off with valuables and three vehicles,” Rusa head Prem Balram said.
In August, self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s congregation members in Mpumalanga were robbed at gunpoint.
Police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said at the time members of Enlightened Christian Gathering, founded by Bushiri, had gathered for a night vigil when they were accosted by three armed men who had concealed their faces.
"[They] robbed members of an undisclosed amount of cash, 14 cellphones, personal bank cards, the church's bank card and demanded the personal identification numbers (PINs).”
Mohlala said the suspects also robbed congregants of two vehicle keys and managed to flee the scene in a stolen white VW Polo Vivo. The vehicle was later found abandoned at Mzinti, about 7km from the church.
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