Residents want Pastor Vusi Hlatswayo following ungodly activities
On Thursday, the people living in Duduza on the East Rand staged a protest in the streets, calling for Pastor Vusi Hlatswayo of the Immanuel Word of Ministry to leave their community.
They claim he receives social grant payments meant for the church’s members and is the beneficiary of pensioner-owned residences and insurance policies.
The action against the pastor comes after 33-year-old Winnie Nkosi’s unexplained death on February 23.
Four years ago, Winnie’s family discovered compromising photos and chats between her and Hlatswayo on her mobile phone, so she left her house and moved in with other young people at the church.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa, Winnie’s mother, Elsie Nkosi, said she wants justice for her daughter. She said the pastor took Winnie when she was alive but now she is dead, her family has been denied answers.
“After completing her matric my daughter moved to the church, refusing to study further or find a job,” Nkosi said.
Youth members living at the church are allegedly not allowed access to the outside world.
“My daughter died a painful death,” said Nkosi. “The clinic confirmed that she died before she arrived at the clinic and she was dumped as an unknown person.
“Her post-mortem revealed that they found rat poison which had not spread to her organs. Her left foot and arm were broken. There were bruises on her face.”
A former member of the congregation, Ntebaleng Selepe, 41, said her marriage ended when her husband found chats with the pastor on her phone in which he allegedly asked her to send him naked pictyred of herself.
“The pastor asked me to send him my pictures touching myself while he prayed on the other side,” she said, “but I refused.”
Vusi Hlatswayo
Another Duduza resident, Themba Xaba, said the pastor is listed as a beneficiary on the title deed of his grandmother’s house.
In addition, he said: “We had to fight to get her pension grant card back”