
PASTOR AND WIFE ARRESTED AFTER POLICE STORM CHURCH RUN “REHAB” AND FIND ABOUT 200 PEOPLE, SOME ALLEGEDLY CHAINED, PACKED INTO INHUMANE CONDITIONS
South African authorities have arrested a 59-year-old pastor and his 58-year-old wife after about 200 people were discovered at an allegedly unregistered rehabilitation centre operating from church premises in Waterval B, Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga. Fourteen people required medical treatment, while local officials reported overcrowded rooms, inadequate sanitation, locked water taps, people with sores and some residents allegedly chained together. An 11-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were among those found. The couple faces allegations including kidnapping, operating an unregistered treatment facility and breaches of health and safety regulations, with police warning that additional charges or arrests could follow.