Muso accused of sexual abuse bolted before his hearing, says Every Nation
‘There were no favours for Sithole, he was suspended just as allegations arose’
The Every Nation Rosebank says the man facing sexual abuse allegations resigned before he could face an internal disciplinary hearing .
Church spokesperson Dennis Neville told Sowetan that Ntandoyenkosi Clark Sithole bolted in December soon after people started laying complaints about him. Sithole is also a musician. “The church suspended Sithole from his role with immediate effect when the allegations against Sithole arose. Sithole was grappling with some health concerns at the time and was in and out of hospital. As a result, the church’s leadership was unable to meet with him to investigate these allegations.
“Not only was he suspended from fulfilling his duties, but he was also on sick leave and sporadically hospitalised. Sithole resigned from the employ of the church on 15 December 2020 amidst the allegations and before the church could take disciplinary action,” Neville said.
He said when victims started coming forward, the church met with Sithole to discuss the matter. During this period they also sought services of a law firm to investigate and to also review internal church processes and procedures.
“The law firm provided a detailed report on 25 January 2021, after a comprehensive investigation. We have been guided by their recommendations since this date.
“The church has further offered, at their choice, either internal or external counselling to the victims and offered to provide some legal assistance in the event that the victims choose to initiate criminal proceedings against Sithole.
“We have also requested any and all victims to come forward so that we can provide assistance where necessary.”
However, an alleged victim told Sowetan this week that the church only recommended he sought help from certain psychologists at his own costs.
Neville rejected claims that the church wanted to squash the allegations because Sithole was influential and well loved in the church.
“We condemn any form of sexual harassment or abuse in the strongest possible terms. As a result, upon learning about these allegations we immediately suspended Sithole from active duty and launched an external investigation as soon as reasonably possible, reached out to the victims to ensure that they received the support and counselling that they needed.”