Police in
South Africa have arrested a self-proclaimed prophet who allegedly raped four
girls inside his church under the guise he was praying for them.
The
32-year-old leader of a church in Burgersdorp outside Tzaneen in Limpopo was
arrested on Tuesday August 22 after the rape of two 14-year-olds, a 15-year-old
and 17-year-old were reported on Sunday.
Provincial
police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe, who confirmed the incident
yesterday said the man would appear at the Lenyenye Magistrate's Court...
Ngoepe said
the prophet, who is married with three children, allegedly raped the girls who
were ushers inside the church after inviting them for a prayer session on
separate occasions.
Two mothers
of the victims yesterday, recounted how their daughters were sexually
assaulted.
The mother
of the 15-year-old victim said she was initially happy when her daughter
started attending the church last year.
"I am
so hurt and disappointed. I thought my child was going there to improve her
life but I was wrong," she told The Sowetan.
She said
what was going on in church was exposed by a pastor from another church in a
meeting held by the residents and a community policing forum on Sunday.
"When I
asked my daughter if she had been raped she started crying," she said.
The woman
said her daughter told her she was raped in December allegedly by the prophet
after he invited her for a prayer meeting.
"At
first he told her that she had the mark of the devil bellow her belly button
and that her breasts were being sucked by demonic baboons."
The mother
said, according to her daughter, the prophet then allegedly grabbed the girl's
breasts and started to pray.
She said her
daughter returned home after the prayer. The prophet had asked her to come
back.
The mother
said he invited her into the small prayer room where he allegedly started to
touch her and forcefully undressed her. He then allegedly pinned her down and
raped her on top of the table.
"I feel
so hurt. I want him to rot in jail," said the mother, adding that the
incidents were only discovered later because the teenagers were too afraid to
report the man they refer to as "Papa".
"He
threatened them by saying that the Holy Spirit which he put inside them would
kill them if they talk about it."
The mother
said she had noticed a change in her daughter's behaviour in December, but did
not think it was linked to church activities. She said the girl was now withdrawn
and spent most of her time sleeping after school.
Another
woman, whose 17-year-old daughter was allegedly raped, also found out at the
same meeting. She said the assault took place when the prophet had asked the
teenager to come to church after school in September. She said the prophet had
told her daughter that he had a sexual dream about her before raping her.
"I am
so angry. I don't want to see him and his church in Burgersdorp anymore. He
deserves to be locked up forever."
The woman
said she had met the prophet who used to invite her to his church.
"I
never thought he would do something like this," she said.
She said she
believed her daughter was repeatedly raped.
"The
first time he raped her he did not use a condom."
The woman
said her daughter was struggling to cope at school and was suffering from mood
swings since the alleged incidents happened.
"She
even talks about suicide."
The prophet
established the church last year and it has services on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
First photo:
The mother of one of four teenagers allegedly raped by a pastor crying outside
Lenyenye Magistrate Court in Limpopo on Thursday.
Second
photo: The prophet inside the court in Limpopo. Covered his face with jacket to
avoid cameras.
Source: The
Sowetan
0 Comments