Hawks nab pastor suspected of sexual assault

A CONTROVERSIAL Durban-based Nigerian pastor‚ wanted in connection with allegations of sexual ass was arrested at the Port Elizabeth airport yesterday afternoon.

A large police contingent arrived at the airport around 3pm to conduct the arrest.

Shortly before his arrival‚ defence advocate Terry Price‚ who was waiting for his client at the airport‚ got into a verbal argument with a member of the Hawks.

Price questioned whether they would be arresting the pastor. The pastor’s lawyer‚ Alwyn Griebenow‚ had previously said his client would be meeting police for an “interview”.

The pastor‚ who cannot be named because he has not been charged and has not pleaded in court‚ was handcuffed and escorted from the airport by a number of police officers.

He was taken to the Hawks offices in King Edward Street‚ Newton Park‚ shortly after being escorted from the airport.

The Hawks are investigating the allegations against the pastor.

The pastor is accused of molesting more than 30 young girls on the pretext of rescuing them from drugs.

The Nigerian evangelist came under scrutiny after his church featured on current affairs programme Special Assignment on Sunday. The programme spoke to women who claimed that they were lured into performing sexual favours for the pastor.

Griebenow‚ one of PE’s foremost defence attorneys‚ represented the second suspect accused of involvement in the murder of teacher Jayde Panayiotou‚ who was found shot dead after being kidnapped outside her townhouse in 2015.

Griebenow has represented some high-profile cases‚ such as defending serial killer Stewart “Boetie Boer” Wilkens‚ who was charged with 10 counts of murder and five counts of sodomy in 1997. He also represented a group of alleged mercenaries who were held in Zimbabwe on suspicion of being involved in a planned coup in Equatorial Guinea. — TMG