Two men have been charged in South Africa with the robbery and attempted murder of Irish priest Fr Kieran Creagh, police in Pretoria said yesterday.
Inspector Paul Ramaloko, a South African police spokesman, said the two were charged in custody and would shortly appear in court where they are due to apply for bail.
A magistrates' court hearing has provisionally been scheduled for tomorrow in Atteridgeville, the township where Fr Creagh lived and worked at the time of his shooting on the night of February 28th last.
The 45-year-old Passionist priest was shot several times by intruders who broke into his apartment, which is located on the grounds of a hospice that he had established for victims of HIV/Aids. A mobile phone, a DVD player and an empty safe were taken in the raid.
A former winner of the ESB/Rehab Person of the Year Award, Fr Creagh is currently in Ireland recuperating from his injuries.
He had a bullet removed from his lung in a South African hospital before flying back to his family in Belfast over Easter.
Members of the community surrounding the hospice yesterday welcomed the breakthrough in the police investigation.
Since the shooting, Fr Creagh has received countless messages of support from figures ranging from DUP leader Rev Ian Paisley to South African president Thabo Mbeki.