{"id":67112,"date":"2025-04-16T16:30:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T16:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T16:30:44","slug":"pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrims Brave Road to Moria A Year after ZCC Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong><\/span><b>At least 100 devotees of the Molepolole branch of St Engenas ZCC are going on the annual Easter pilgrimage to Moria in what is also an affirmation of faith after the Mmamatlakala Pass accident that claimed the lives of 44 of their fellow believers this time last year. <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Approximately 100 congregants of the Molepolole branch of St Engenas Zion Christian Church (ZCC) have resumed the Easter pilgrimage to Moria, a year after 44 of their fellow members died in a horrific road accident on the trip to the same place.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in an interview, the Secretary of the Branch, Philip Sebifo, said this year\u2019s pilgrimage is not only about completing the journey on behalf of their departed members but is also about upholding a central tradition of the church\u2019s Easter celebrations.<\/p>\n<p>Adequate counselling<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout 100 members will be travelling to Moria but not by bus, as that could evoke traumatic memories,\u201d said Sebifo. \u201cWe believe our members have received adequate counselling. Moreover, we have ensured this is something that they truly want to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe called a meeting to discuss the trip in March, and many expressed their willingness to go. They said they\u2019re going to Moria in accordance with God\u2019s will and to complete the journey of their departed brethren and sistren.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>50 metres below<\/p>\n<p>Sebifo added that the Molepolole branch previously had around 350 members but now stands at approximately 300 due to the lives lost in the 2024 tragedy and some members stepping away in grief.<\/p>\n<p>50 metres below<\/p>\n<p>The horrific accident occurred on 28 March 2024 when a bus carrying 45 members of Molepolole Branch of the St Engenas ZCC veered off the Mmamatlakala Mountain Pass road in South Africa\u2019s Limpopo province, plunging into a ravine 50 metres below.<\/p>\n<p>Only 8-year old Lauryn Siako survived in what many members of the church and people in general have ascribed to divine intervention. According to Sebifo, the girl \u2013 now aged 9 \u2013 wanted to join the pilgrimage but was discouraged by church leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Young survivor not going<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe felt she would attract too much attention and we wanted to protect her,\u201d he said. \u201cShe will go in the future but not this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first group of the pilgrims will leave on Wednesday and the next on Thursday, using private vehicles and a combi instead of a bus. \u201cFaith has triumphed over fear,\u201d Sebifo asserted.<\/p>\n<p>His words were echoed by Oreeditse Molebatsi, Minister and Head of Generale \u2013 Botswana, St Engenas ZCC, who said the church believes that the pilgrims are emotionally ready, thanks to a year-long counselling programme led by ministers.<\/p>\n<p>Long and sombre shadow<\/p>\n<p>The ZCC pilgrimage to Moria, established by the church\u2019s spiritual leader Bishop Joseph Lekganyane, is one of the largest annual religious gatherings in Southern Africa, drawing millions of followers from across the region.<\/p>\n<p>However, the 2024 tragedy has cast a long and sombre shadow over this year\u2019s event \u2014 transforming what is usually a joyful occasion into one of remembrance of the tragedy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Botswana<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. At least 100 devotees of the Molepolole branch of St Engenas ZCC are going on the annual Easter pilgrimage to Moria in what is also an affirmation of faith after the Mmamatlakala Pass accident that claimed the lives of 44 of their fellow believers this time last year. Approximately 100 congregants of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-67112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pilgrims Brave Road to Moria A Year after ZCC Tragedy - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilgrims Brave Road to Moria A Year after ZCC Tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. At least 100 devotees of the Molepolole branch of St Engenas ZCC are going on the annual Easter pilgrimage to Moria in what is also an affirmation of faith after the Mmamatlakala Pass accident that claimed the lives of 44 of their fellow believers this time last year. Approximately 100 congregants of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-16T16:30:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Pilgrims Brave Road to Moria A Year after ZCC Tragedy\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-16T16:30:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\"},\"wordCount\":511,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/04\/sm_1744812664.411436.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pilgrims-brave-road-to-moria-a-year-after-zcc-tragedy\",\"name\":\"Pilgrims Brave Road to Moria A Year after ZCC Tragedy - 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