Gabola church leader Pope Tsietsi Makiti.

• The Gabola church, where congregants drink alcohol, has continued to hold gatherings after lockdown regulations relaxed. 
• They have been moving services from place to place to avoid run-ins with the authorities.
• The country allows 50 worshippers to attend services, as per easing of regulations.

When South Africa began easing its coronavirus lockdown in May, it allowed religious worshippers to gather in groups of up to 50, but maintained a ban on people assembling to drink alcohol.

That’s a problem for the Gabola church – the name means ‘drinking’ in the local Tswana language – for whom a tipple is an integral part of their religious worship.

Founded just two years ago, the church tried to hold its usual meetings in local bars, or shebeens, to praise God while downing whisky, but they soon got arrested, its leader and self-styled “pope” Tsietsi Makiti, 55, told Reuters.

READ | Covid-19: Another hard lockdown is possible, warns Mkhize

“They can arrest us until Jesus comes back,” said Makiti, wearing a bishop’s mitre with a miniature bottle of spirits hanging from it.

But he added they had been moving services from place to place to avoid a run-in with the authorities.

On Sunday, worshippers met in a rubbish-strewn field in Evaton, south of Johannesburg. As the service started, the “clergy” blessed some beer bottles in prayer.

Bottles

“At Gabola church you (bring)… the liquor of your choice… and the pastor will bless the liquor so that it will not be poisonous to your body,” Makiti said.

Wearing flowing black robes and coloured scarves, Makiti and five “clergymen” – none of them who are ordained – sit before a table strewn with empty bottles of alcohol.

Makiti’s sermon included such proclamations as: “We are a church that will remake the world.”

“People call me a drunkard,” said one worshipper, Nthabiseng Kotope, 38, who added that she joined the church in March.

“I agree with them. I do God’s work while drinking.”

Apart from the ban on alcohol, the congregants observe all other coronavirus rules, including the limit of 50 people, the spacing out of chairs and use of hand sanitisers.

While some Protestant sects teach that alcohol is sinful and to be avoided, most mainstream Christian churches are not opposed to moderate drinking, citing such Biblical stories as Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

• Astron Energy says there is no immediate danger to the surrounding area of Milnerton in Cape Town.
• Two people died in the explosion and seven others were injured.
• Pictures show officials on scene inspecting after the early morning blast.

Astron Energy company has assured the surrounding communities of its Milnerton site in Cape Town that there is “no danger” to the area after two employees died in a massive blast.

Astron on Thursday confirmed that two of its employees died, and a further seven were injured after a massive explosion at its Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

WATCH | Two killed, 7 injured in Cape Town refinery explosion

A structure was severely damaged and mangled after the blast took place around 04:00 on Thursday. The cause of the explosion is still undetermined.

There was no smoke present on Thursday morning, with officials inspecting the wreckage.

A mangled part of a plant at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

The wreckage after the explosion.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

Two people have died after a massive explosion at a Milnerton refinery in Cape Town.

“It is with great sadness that Astron Energy can confirm that two Astron employees died in an incident at the company’s Milnerton refinery this morning,” the company said in a statement.

“Seven other individuals were injured, two of which remain in hospital where they are receiving treatment for their injuries. All steps are being taken by Astron Energy to support the families, friends and colleagues of the two individuals who tragically lost their lives and those who were injured in the incident.” 

Stable

The incident had been contained and the plant was stable. All work had stopped on Thursday.

“There is no danger to surrounding communities. There is no immediate threat to fuel supplies because of the incident,” the statement said. 

Astron Energy CEO Jonathan Molapo said: “This is a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected. Our priority now is to support them, and our colleagues, and to continue to ensure that the plant is completely safe. We will conduct a full investigation of the incident.”

Earlier on Thursday, when News24 visited the scene, damage could be seen on one of the units closest to the Plattekloof side of the sprawling Milnerton plant, north of the city centre. The unit was partially collapsed and mangled.

City of Cape Town fire and emergency services personnel were on the scene.

– Compiled by Paul Herman, photographs by Jan Ras

Dirt piles up at an isolation room at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda. (Picture supplied to News24)

• Two patients have told of conditions in the isolation room at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda.
• Used bedpans, overflowing rubbish bins and not being fed for hours are some of the claims.
• Department says the hospital has seen five confirmed cases, five cases under investigation and four deaths.

Going without food for hours, re-using bedpans filled with faeces, an overflowing bin and being ignored by nursing staff are just some of the conditions patients in isolation at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda say they have had to endure.

News24 has spoken to a patient, as well as the family member of a second patient, after they were placed in isolation showing signs of Covid-19.

The isolation room is for “patients under investigation” for Covid-19, pending their confirmed test results.

One patient, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said it would be better to just go home.

Suffering from asthma, the patient was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after having trouble breathing.

On Thursday, the patient was tested for Covid-19 and taken to an isolation room where four other patients were also waiting for their results.

“The isolation room has been a nightmare. No one wants to come inside to help us. We have to use bedpans to relieve ourselves and those pans are never cleaned. The bin has not been taken since I arrived,” the patient said.

The patient also described how they had to wait for hours for food. On Friday, they had only been served breakfast at 15:00 when they knocked furiously on the door demanding food.

As of Friday, Settlers had recorded five confirmed cases, five more patients under investigation and four deaths, provincial health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said.

Kupelo did not answer further questions on the conditions at Settlers Hospital when asked by News24.

Founder and chairperson of the Unemployed People’s Movement, Ayanda Kota, said this was a common experience for patients at the hospital.

“We don’t have beds for Covid-19 anymore. The deaths are increasing in Makhanda. We buried four people this weekend,” Kota said.

Dirt piles up at an isolation room at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda. (Picture supplied to News24)

Patients claim they have had to re-use filthy bedpans at an isolation room at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda. (Picture supplied to News24)

Patients claim they have had to re-use filthy bedpans at an isolation room at Settlers Hospital in Makhanda. (Picture supplied to News24)

As of Sunday, 387 people have died of Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape.

A family member of another patient who was also admitted in the same ward, sought Kota’s help after learning of the conditions in the isolation room. 

In a voice note supplied by Kota, the family member could be heard describing similar conditions as detailed by the anonymous patient. Speaking to News24, the family member said their sibling has now tested positive for Covid-19 and was taken to a quarantine site nearby. 

“She has diabetes and she could not survive in those conditions. The treatment she received was horrible. I went there to give her food but they did not allow me. They said it was the law. When she was there, she was not fed for hours. The nurses don’t want to go into that room. She was waiting for the results, but already they were treating her like she had the virus. Even if she had the virus, this is not the kind of treatment anyone deserves,” she said.

In May, the SABC reported that nurses at Komga Hospital had allegedly refused to treat a positive patient from King William’s Town sent to their hospital, claiming they were scared.

The department condemned this, saying that it is constitutionally a fundamental right that every South African should have access to healthcare services regardless of their residential area.

Lack of education

Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) provincial secretary Khaya Sodidi said it was common for nurses to fear going into isolation wards because of an alleged lack of personal protective gear.

Speaking to News24, Sodidi said another challenge nurses were facing was the lack of education around Covid-19, saying some nurses did not know what to do.

“Everytime there is a new viral strain there must be a workshop. That has not happened [yet].”

They are busy raising this issue with the provincial government.

He added that as of Monday the union had recorded 800 infections of their members.

“We suspect that even that number is not accurate. We suspect that there are more.”

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