Charleston Versus the St James Church Massacre

22 Jun, 2015 by Dave Blount

Print this article Font size -16+

The New Life Church in Colorado Springs isn’t the only site of a massacre that it is instructive to compare to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. The 1993 bloodbath at the St James Church in South Africa is more similar in that it was racially motivated. From Wikipedia:

The Saint James Church massacre was a massacre perpetrated on St James Church in Kenilworth, Cape Town on 25 July 1993 by four cadres of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA). 11 members of the congregation were killed and 58 wounded. …

The attack occurred during the Sunday evening service. Sichumiso Nonxuba, Bassie Mkhumbuzi, Gcinikhaya Makoma and Tobela Mlambisa approached the church in a vehicle stolen by Mlambisa and Makoma beforehand. Nonxuba, who commanded the unit, and Makoma entered the church armed with M26 hand grenades and R4 assault rifles. They threw the grenades and then opened fire on the congregation, killing 11 and wounding 58. One member of the congregation, Charl van Wyk, who wrote a book about the event (Shooting Back), returned fire with a .38 special revolver, wounding one of the attackers. At this point they fled the church. Mkhumbuzi had been ordered to throw four petrol bombs into the church following the shooting, but abandoned this intention as all four fled in the vehicle.

The attackers had expected the parishioners to be unarmed.

The cowardly murderers were later granted amnesty by South Africa’s “Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Try to imagine Dylann Roof being granted amnesty.

Charl van Wyk being armed saved many innocent lives. He is now a gun rights advocate.