Violated by their church leader: the women speak out
Case 1
“Whenever I think of what the bishop did to me two years ago, I sink back into depression. I was 18 years old. I got a call from the bishop, who I used to call Daddy at that time. He asked me to come to his consultation room for prophecy.
“At first I was puzzled as to where he got my numbers but I was excited Daddy wanted to see me. I knew people paid R200 for his sessions. But he told me not to worry about the fees.
“I was so excited; eager to hear what was the message that God had sent for me through Daddy. That morning I caught the first taxi to Jouberton where the main church and his offices were.
“He didn’t attend to me immediately. My turn came at around 10pm.
He was so excited to see me and he gave me a long hug. I did not see anything strange with the hug at first.
“But when I could feel his hands going into my underwear, that’s when I realised something bad was about to happen.
“I tried to push him but he was holding me tight.
“He warned me that I will die if I don’t follow his instructions and I should stop crying.
cried he didn’t have any mercy towards me. He raped me inside the shack where he was doing the counselling sessions with other congregants who had come before me. When he was done, he gave me R50 and told me to buy morning-after pills and never tell anyone about what had just happened.”
Case 2
“When I was five months pregnant I noticed I was bleeding. I went to the gynaecologist. On my way back my fiancé called the bishop for prayers. He asked me to go in the counselling shack while my fiancé waited outside.
“He first tried to kiss me, I pushed him. Then he touched my privates. I removed his hands. At this point I was scared. He told me this was to save my unborn child and he was not doing it for himself but me. He asked me to pull my dress above my waistline. While praying his hand was inside my panty and was playing with my private parts.”
Case 3
“The bishop spanked my wife in front of me. I built toilets for the church, blessed him with a car and I think I gave more than R100 000. I stopped going to church when rumours surfaced that he was sleeping with my wife.
“I’m going through a divorce now and my wife is still a loyal church member. We met each other at church. The bishop had prophesied that God had told him we should get married.”
Case 4
“I was dating the bishop’s son but still he would undress me with his looks. He demanded I sleep with him, too. One day he called me in his counselling shack, said he had a prophecy for me. At first he told me God would punish me because I do not want to have sex with him.
“He said I was the only female leader in his church who refused to have sex with him. He told me the Bible says we should take care of our spiritual leaders with our body. He then gave me a hug that made me feel very uncomfortable.
“Later he put his hands inside of my private parts and complimented me on its beauty and said I should give it to him one day. I wanted to cry. But he warned if I told anyone about what he did, I would die. I bathed three times that day.”
Case 5
“He called me a whore who sleeps around with all the men, yet I do not want to sleep with him. At the time, he had appointed me as a leader of one of his new branches. He told me if I wanted to be powerful in my preaching I had to sleep with him.
“I was so shocked. This man was married and was dating my little sister, too.
He would force me to watch the two of them kiss and hug each other in the car. He also asked me to take pictures of female private parts in my family or anyone I knew, and send it to him.”
Case 6
“I was 19 when the bishop started his church in my neighbourhood. Back then it was just a tent. He spotted that I had a spiritual gift and would call me to his house for Bible study.
“He would hug me in a strange way; he would get aroused until he forced himself on me.
shouldn’t talk about what had happened as he has just anointed me and the anointing came from God.
“When I found out I was pregnant, he said I should abort the child, but I kept it. I left the church and became a laughing stock in the community.
“Everyone knew I didn’t have a boyfriend. My child is 15 now.”
Case 7
“In 2016, the bishop’s personal assistant came to my house. She bought me four bottles of beer and gave me R50. She later asked if she could take pictures of my private parts. I let her, as I thought she was my friend . . .
“She didn’t tell me what she wanted to do with the pictures but I could see she was sending them to someone. It is only now that I confronted her that she admitted she forwarded them to the bishop.”
The PA has confirmed this version of events to the Sunday Times.
Case 8
“In 2013 when I came forward with my story to the church and elders, I was treated as someone who had lost her marbles.
“The bishop called me for a session at his shack. The moment I entered the shack he was all over me kissing me, touching my breast and bum. He told me we need to have sex in order to connect in the spiritual realm and be powerful.
“It was during the day and there was a line of people waiting for him outside. He got angry when I said I cannot sleep with him because I am married. I managed to trick him and told him I had my periods. He let go of me. I am surprised that today the same personal assistant who, when I relayed my story to her, swore that the bishop would never do such, is today saying all these things. I am so glad the other women are coming out with their story, but I’m not sure if I will ever forgive the bishop and his personal assistant.”
The PA has confirmed this version of events to the Sunday Times.
Case 9
“I was 18 or 19 when I joined the church. At the time it had fewer than 20 members. The majority were youngsters. The first time he forced himself on me was in 2004. I wanted counselling on an incident that had happened during my soccer practice.
“He gave me R400 and asked me to wait for him at a Klerksdorp hotel. He said he needed to counsel me in a private place. When he got there, he threw me on the bed and told me he has to get rid of the lesbian spirit that had entered my body. I managed to fight back and escape. I did not tell anyone about this.
“Elders including his wife came to my house and begged me to go back to church. I was told that when he preached my name would come out, that if I do not come back to church I will die. I went back, fearing him.
“He slept with me on a number of occasions. He and his wife . . . tricked me into buying two cars for them because they did not qualify for a loan. I took out car finance on their behalf . . . I was left to pay the remaining instalments.
“I managed to leave the church in 2012 after years of slaving for the bishop and his wife. I never had the courage to talk to anyone until now.”
The moment I entered the shack he was all over me kissing me touching my breast and bum. He told me we need to have sex to connect in the spiritual realm and be powerful. Female congregant