Pastor orders members to abandon other banks and switch to Zuma's Bank.

Caesar Nongqunga made the order during a service held at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was also attended by Zuma.

The “chief apostle” of the Twelve Apostles Church in Christ on Sunday ordered his alleged 4.5 million members to abandon other banks and switch to VBS Bank.

The bank became famous for financing President Jacob Zuma to repay to the state some of the upgrades to his private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

Caesar Nongqunga made the order at an international thanksgiving service held at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was also attended by Zuma himself.

The motivation for Nongqunga urging members to abandon the big banks was his own failure to secure a loan of R2 million from First National Bank to buy a property to build a church. He told the estimated 15 000 people in the stadium that FNB had refused to accept his existing life insurance policy as security for the loan.

“Every member of the Twelve Apostles Church, take out your money from any other bank and put it in this bank. I am going to do the same. Similarly the church will do the same.”

He said VBS would then establish a subsidiary bank with the money. The head office of this bank would be in East London and it would have branches in Umtata, Durban, and Johannesburg.

“I don’t expect any member then to be banking with any other bank except VBS bank. We must bank with our own bank,” Nongqunga said.

VBS Bank came to public attention earlier this year when if gave Zuma a loan to repay the costs of the non-security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.

VBS Bank was established in 1982 as the Venda Building Society and became a mutual bank in the early 1990s with most of its customers living in Limpopo province.

Comment could not immediately be obtained from VBS Bank or FNB.

Apart from Zuma, KwaZulu-Natal premier Willes Mchunu attended the service, as did eThekwini metro mayor Zandile Gumede – both of whom told the congregants that Zuma was being unfairly targeted.

“He is being attacked by the devil and the devil is using Judas Iscariot. Satan is even using the people closest to him,” Gumede said.

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Mere mortals should not judge Zuma and had no right to do so. “It is only Jehovah that can judge him. Who are you to judge him?” she said.

– African News Agency (ANA)