Thembisa magistrate dons pastoral robe

After handing down judgments in matters ranging from rapes, murders and robberies to  family disputes and child maintenance, a Thembisa magistrate is overjoyed at being accorded a pastoral title.

Nthabiseng Mamokete Sihlangu, 43, was recently ordained as a pastor of Grace Bible Church. Its main branch is in Soweto.

Her journey to the pulpit has been long. For the past nine years, her home has been a church “pit stop” where she has hosted mid-week Bible study and prayer sessions for those needing revival. 

Now she is set to lead one of the church's  branches that will open soon, where she will offer counselling as well as preach at Sunday and weekly services.

Sihlangu spent 17 years as a prosecutor, working on criminal cases of rapists, murderers and robbers before wielding the gavel as a magistrate in 2018, where she faces crime and maintenance cases in the family court.

Adjudicating on maintenance matters “is a very important task", she said, “because maintenance and wellbeing of a minor child is of paramount importance. If at the ground level, we make sure that every child’s need is met then we will have no criminals in our society.

“I love what I do. I get to change the status quo of another human being and restore them to dignity and bring peace in their surrounding. I hate lawlessness and from a young age I wanted to be a magistrate. Now, I am aspiring to be a judge,” said Sihlangu, who is also a member of the South African chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, which is headed by Mandisa Maya, deputy chief justice of the Constitutional Court.

Sihlangu said her typical day starts with morning devotions at 3.30am.

“At the maintenance court, we deal with lots of cases. I work from nine until three and have no tea or lunch break due to the workload. In a day, we have 15 cases where I issue enforcement orders, and then we do enquiries or trials — maybe two to four per day depending on how long it takes. Then, I give judgments and prepare for complex cases after hours at home."

But "serving God is my number one priority".

“I am passionate about winning souls and ministering to women. I believe in empowering women and girls and boys with the power of the word [Bible]. I love it when I see them transformed and becoming giants for God’s kingdom.”

Sihlangu, who was raised by her grandmother, said she became a born-again Christian during her teenage years. Her mother was employed as a domestic worker and would only visit her during December holidays. Seeing her mother struggling with alcohol drew her closer to God and “prayer was my only hope. It is my belief in God that brought hope.

“The more struggles I faced in life, the closer I became with God. In 2002, I started visiting Grace Bible Church and became a member in 2004. I had a desire to work for God and I first opened a home cell, which is still running. I had the passion for teaching God's word and my branch pastor recommended that I attend class for pastors because she said I have a pastoral anointing. I resisted, but I finally attended the classes in 2016 and we graduated on March 27 2022 instead of 2020 because of Covid.”

The married mother of three is studying toward her LLM at Unisa. As a pastor, she attends different weekly and monthly church seminars. Her busy schedule does not deter her from nurturing her children, cooking and going to the gym.

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