Narrow escape for 10 Batswana
Mbongeni Mguni | Friday September 19, 2014 16:40
A guesthouse for international visitors within TB Joshua’s sprawling Synagogue Church of All Nations compound in Lagos collapsed on Friday with scores of worshippers feared trapped, injured or dead. While Nigerian officials put the death count at “over 80”, the South African government said 67 South Africans alone were confirmed dead.
Speaking from Abuja yesterday, High Commissioner Matshwenyego Fisher said he had spoken to all 10 Batswana who reported that they had been in adjacent building to the multi-storey guesthouse at the time of the collapse.
He added that he had dispatched an officer who was subsequently granted entry to the site of the collapse and received confirmation that no Batswana were injured or killed in the incident.
“The officer met with the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency and they said there are no Batswana casualties or injuries,” Fisher told Mmegi yesterday afternoon.
“They said since the Ebola travel restrictions were enforced, the numbers of Batswana travelling to the church had drastically reduced.
“Our officer managed to gain access to the premises and they received him well.”
Earlier in the day, the High Commissioner had said the Commission had been able to trace and speak to 10 citizens who were in the compound at the time of the collapse.
“They said they had been in a building next door and that is how they escaped. Eight of them left for Botswana yesterday and the other two left on Tuesday.
“The big question for us, however, is that there is a possibility that some Batswana travelled as individuals and not part of a group. These are the ones we are worried about,” Fisher said before later confirming that no Batswana had been involved.
The Nigerian Emergency Management Agency had previously told the High Commission that it would identify nationalities as part of its search and rescue mission.
The High Commissioner also dismissed reports circulating in local social media to the effect that the Nigerian government had restricted access to the compound. Instead, he said, it was due process that search and rescue missions continue unimpeded and be placed as an immediate priority above all other considerations.
Botswana’s ‘survivors’ of the incident are suspected to have flown to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg and proceeded by road, as checks of the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport yesterday were fruitless.
Although local church members confirmed that their fellow congregants were on the way home, they declined to divulge contact details saying these were private. On Wednesday, the local members and the local Nigerian High Commission were equally tight-lipped on how many Batswana had travelled to the church this month.
Nigerian High Commission officials also declined to give an average of the visa applications they process from Batswana for travel to their country.
TB Joshua’s popularity in Botswana soared after a wildly successful crusade in Botswana in 2005, during which he reportedly healed a large number of believers.