Two life jail terms for Mpumalanga pastor who raped 15-year-old girl

A Mpumalanga church pastor who raped a 15-year-old congregant on two separate occasions in 2020 has been convicted and sentenced in the Ermelo regional court to two life imprisonment terms. 

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said on Monday the pastor, 51, and the survivor lived in the same area. The rapes happened between July and September 2020. 

The pastor denied the allegations, but prosecutor Rothman Chanѐ, who led the testimony of the survivor and her brother who found his sister naked on one of the occasions, said it was corroborated by a medical report.  

In aggravation of sentence the state handed in a victim impact statement compiled by the victim’s mother and facilitated by court preparation officer Faith Masango.

“In her statement she said she felt angry and disappointed because the family trusted the accused. He was their spiritual leader and a father figure to children in the church who was supposed to protect children, not use their vulnerability to his advantage.”

Nyuswa said magistrate Eben Jonker found no compelling and substantial reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence and imposed life imprisonment on each count.

The court ordered the pastor's name be listed in the national register of sexual offenders.

Mpumalanga director of public prosecutions Nkebe Kanyane welcomed the conviction and sentence.

“Sentences of this nature are indicative of our commitment to the fight against gender-based violence,” Kanyane said 

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