Witness Tells: Pastor Said I Would Die If I Told
The third complainant in the trial of Agape Healing Church Ministry Pastor Waisake Tulavu, has claimed that Pastor threatened her saying that she would die if she tells anyone that he had sexually assaulted her.
The 24-year-old woman took stand yesterday and recalled how Pastor Tulavu allegedly molested her.
The trial is presided by Judge Justice Daniel Goundar at the High Court in Suva.
Tulavu denies four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
It is alleged that between May 11 and September 15, 2018, at Nasinu, Tulavu allegedly raped the three women while they were attendees of the church.
Third complainant
The third complainant told the court that on September 15, 2018, she went to Tulavu’s house with one named Kalesi on the promise of healing and deliverance.
She told the court that when she reached Tulavu’s residence, she saw the youth group having a youth service and waited for the Pastor while he was inside another room.
She recalled that after she had dinner, Tulavu called her and Kalesi outside on the porch and told Kalesi that he wanted privacy with the complainant which she believed was for the purpose of healing.
She told the court that the reason she went to Tulavu’s house was because she was constantly losing weight and wanted to be healed as she had abnormal pains in her stomach.
She was expecting Tulavu to pray over her and share a word of God as deliverance.
However, Tulavu had given her three options from which she had to pick one and they were to either be delivered, prayed over or make an agreement with Tulavu.
The complainant told the court that she wanted to make an agreement, however, Tulavu had told her that she needed to be delivered in order to make an agreement.
In the process, the complainant started to have abnormal pain in her stomach, Tulavu then told her that he would massage it which she agreed to.
She then recalled that Tulavu went to his room and came back with oil, switched off the lights on the porch saying that people were watching them.
Tulavu poured the oil on his hand and massaged her stomach which she thought was part of the healing. She told the court that while massaging, Tulavu asked her personal questions about her boyfriend. Tulavu told her to try older men then he slipped his hand inside her skirt and undergarment and started to touch her private part.
She was scared and could not believe that a Pastor would do such a thing.
Tulavu told the complainant that her sickness was in her private part and she had to be delivered in order to be healed.
The complainant also told the court that Tulavu had told her to keep it as a secret or else she would die.
After that incident, Tulavu kept telling her that she needed to be delivered to which she had disagreed and told him that she wanted to go home.
She told the court that Tulavu had said to her to have sex with a man from Makoi to be delivered, however, she denied and asked him to pray over her.
Five days after the complainant left Tulavu’s house, she couldn’t keep it a secret anymore and told her aunt and uncle about the incident.
She told the court that Tulavu had apologised and said he was just playing with her and admitted that he touched her private part.
The trial continues today.