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How network of priests caught a fraud BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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Pope Benedict meets a lion cub during an audience with circus performers and music bands in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. The pope is famously a cat lover; as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger he used to go out in the evenings to feed stray cats. It is unlikely, however, that he will adopt a lion for a pet. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNS)
South Africa’s oldest surviving bishop goes home STAFF REPORTER
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HE oldest surviving South African bishop, and the last to have attended the Second Vatican Council, returned to his native Belgium on December 6 after 62 years in the country. Bishop Daniel Verstraete OMI, 88, led the diocese of Klerksdorp from 1965 until his retirement for health reasons in 1994. A Mass was concelebrated with 16 Oblates of Mary Immaculate at Good Shepherd Retreat Centre, Hartbeespoort. Fr Donaat Bohé OMI presided and shared some of his experiences of his more than 20 years of working closely with Bishop Verstraete. Fr Verstraete, who was born in 1924 in Oostrozebeke, Belgium, arrived in South Africa in 1950, the year of his ordination, and commenced his long missionary apostolate in Johannesburg, serving different Soweto parishes. He was appointed prefect apostolic on November 9, 1965 when the former prefecture of Western Transvaal was established by Pope Paul VI. He was named the first bishop of Klerksdorp when it was established as a diocese in 1978. Following his retirement in 1994, Bishop Verstraete acquired the property which is today Good Shepherd Retreat Centre, building up what is now “a place of prayerful quiet for peoples of all denominations to come to be renewed in body, mind and spirit,” said Fr Michael Morrissey OMI, former Oblate provincial and present director of the centre. In the many stories retold on the occasion of the thanksgiving Mass, the bishop was reminded of his two mottos, Fr Morrissey said. One was chosen before his ordination as bishop, “Spiritu et Ambulemus”. The
HEN he realised he had been the victim of a scam, Fr Chris Townsend decided not to keep the embarrassment of it to himself, but shared with fellow priests of the archdiocese of Pretoria—an act that would result in catching the fraudster. “I was approached by [the alleged scam artist, whose name is known to The Southern Cross] who was in a flat panic. He claimed to be a student who was meant to write [examinations] the following day, but was being evicted from his university accommodation as his father hadn’t sent his rent,” said Fr Townsend, former media officer for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and now priest of St Colomba’s parish in Capital Hill. The alleged fraudster claimed his name was Gustave Tamba Tshikote, the son of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s defence minister. He even produced a South African ID book. “He looked and sounded believable,” said Fr Townsend. The priest was taken in by the young man’s story and offered to help pay the rent. Mr Tshikote handed the priest his identity book, student card and other seemingly legitimate documents. “When he came back a couple of days later for more money, stating that he needed the cash to finish a course to complete his mechanical engineering degree, I became suspicious. I felt that I had been the victim of a scam,” Fr Townsend told The Southern Cross.
T Bishop Daniel Verstraete, seen here with Fr Motsiri Mosai OMI of Bloemfontein, has returned to Belgium after 26 years in South Africa. (Photo: Br Rex Harrison OMI) second acquired during his years of ministry: “We go flat out”. “Both characterise his years as Bishop and his years of retirement. The belief that everything done for the Kingdom of God was under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit; and this was evident not only in his public ministry but the influence of the Holy Spirit in his own personal spiritual journey,” Fr Morrissey explained. The priest also noted Bishop Verstraete’s efforts in furthering the work of the Catholic Bible Foundation. “His commitment to the Catholic Bible Foundation is a living monument to his dedication to the Word of God and the presence of the Holy Sprit in his personal life,” Fr Morrissey said. “Those who worked closely with him could not but be touched by his contagious enthusiasm. He worked flat out for all and at all times.”
alking about the experience to Fr Craigh Laubscher of Queenswood, Fr Townsend said “it felt as if we were telling the same story”. The priests started e-mailing parishes and priests across the archdiocese, warning of the scam artist who seemed to be targeting churches. “We also hit social media. We posted his picture on Facebook and Twitter and we started getting feedback very quickly,” said Fr Townsend. “The response was high and we soon realised he had scammed a lot of people in both Pretoria and Johannesburg. We also realised this had been going on for a while.” Fr Townsend said as the Catholic network started discussing the scam, more details emerged. “He was always a student, either from the University of Johannesburg or Pretoria. Sometimes, he asked for small amounts—but he had taken more than R20 000 from one person—always promising to pay the money back.” A number of priests had been targeted, said Fr Townsend. After police confronted the alleged fraudster, they found that “his car contained in excess of 20 different church bulletins—so he had been playing the scene making a nice income”, Fr Townsend said. “Tshikote” was cornered when he made the mistake of returning to Fr Laubscher to ask for more money. “The security
The fake ID presented (with the face obscured for legal reasons) by a man who allegedly defrauded several parishes and priests in Pretoria and Johannesburg. The photo in the ID book is larger than it should be, and the typeface is inconsistent with official IDs.
company, the police and I were all called in, and the scam artist was confronted,” Fr Townsend said.
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t was quickly established that the culprit had no diplomatic immunity and was not related to any foreign ministers. “He cried and begged for mercy,” said the priest. “He said he had only scammed two priests and that was all—meanwhile we knew of at least eight priests that he had hit.” Fr Townsend joked that it was thanks to “CSI Black Robe” that the suspect was caught. Fr Townsend encouraged those who have been affected by a scam to share their stories and not remain silent. Instead, victims of fraudulent schemes should warn others, he said. “We have a wonderful Catholic network that has proven effective. If we help and listen to each other, our charity need not be taken advantage of,” he said. “It also helps us identify those who are in legitimate distress. We encounter serious situations often, but incidents like this make one suspicious, making charity difficult. “Charity must be tempered with reason and justice must be tempered with mercy. Using the Catholic network in the future can help us with this,” he said. “I felt like an idiot when it happened,” said Fr Townsend, “but if it helps to expose scams, helps us to avoid future scams and furthermore identify genuine cases, then it was worth it”.