Bishop Zondo takes sister to court
Family fight gets ugly as pastor demands R500k from sibling
Bishop Bafana Zondo is demanding half a million rand from his younger sister Alina Khabonina Zondo for calling him – among others – a wizard, devil worshipper and womaniser.
In a letter of demand sent to her on March 20 by his lawyers, JL Rahlagane Attorneys, Zondo demanded that Khabonina provide him with a written undertaking that she will not repeat the defamatory allegations against him by no later than April 7 and threatened to take legal action against her if she failed to do so.
The letter, which was sent to her by Rahlagane, reads in part: “On or about the 6th October 2019 and at Veritas FM, you made several defamatory and injurious allegations against our client and his family, which allegations were widely circulated extensively in the social media. Amongst these allegations are the following: that our client is a devil worshipper and very evil person; that he is a womaniser and had extramarital affairs; that he is a witch; that he is a fake pastor.”
Zondo, of the Rivers of Living Waters Ministries, said Khabonina’s statements were not only defamatory but also false and without basis in fact and law.
“Your statements and/or allegations are false and defamatory of our client in that it imputes, and is intended by yourself to impute, and was understood by your followers and/or friends to impute that our client is a womaniser, has extra marital affairs, is a devil worshipper, fake bishop, Satanist.
“The slanderous and malicious claims that you have made and continue to make against our client and his family have caused and continue to cause irreparable harm to our client’s reputation that he has built over the years.”
Zondo has demanded that Khabonina pay him R500 000 for defaming him before April 7 and to make a written undertaking that she will no longer defame him.
He demanded that she “provide us with written undertaking to immediately cease and desist from making any further defamatory statements against our client, his family and the
Rivers of Living Waters Ministry, [on] any platform”.
“We are further instructed to demand from you, as we hereby do, a payment of the amount R500 000 … for your defamatory allegations against our client within 14 days of receipt of this letter,” reads the letter.
Sunday World has learnt that Khabonina has not responded to the letter and that Zondo’s lawyers are girding their loins to launch a protection order against her and apply for a court interdict against her when the lockdown restrictions are completely lifted by the government.
Zondo declined to comment, referring Sunday World to Rahlagane.
Rahlagane also declined to comment and said the matter was sub judice. Attempts to get comment from Khabonina drew a blank.