'I was not a pastor but I volunteered as one': witness changes testimony in Bishop Zondo rape trial
A man who had told the court he was a pastor and that Zondo raped his wife changed his testimony on Thursday and said he was just a volunteer
Image: Rorisang Kgosana
The witness who testified in the trial of rape accused Bishop Stephen Zondo on Wednesday conceded he was not a pastor at one of Zondo's church branches as he had earlier testified.
The man was on his second day of testimony in the Pretoria high court when Zondo’s lawyer, advocate Piet Pistorius, questioned the veracity of the man’s position in the church. The witness had told the court on Tuesday that he was a pastor at the Rivers of Living Waters Ministries’ Soweto branch as he was placed there by Zondo in 2016.
His testimony was to verify evidence brought by his wife, a former cook for Zondo and his church, who claimed to have been raped by Zondo.
But after being cross-examined on how he got the job, the witness admitted that he was never employed by the church nor was he on the church’s payroll.
Pistorius told the court how the witness did not follow the processes of being an appointed pastor of the church.
“You got it wrong. The position is first to be an under-shepherd then if you comply with certain courses and studies and the likes, you become a shepherd and if you qualify and go to biblical school and all kinds of requirements set by the church, you eventually get appointed as a pastor,” Pistorius said.
The witness said he had already undergone Bible school before entering the church but went through a one-day training at Zondo’s church before being ordained as a pastor.
But he was sent to Soweto to “assist” the main pastor of the branch, the witness conceded.
“I was deployed there to go and assist the main pastor as someone under his position ... I said [I was a pastor] because it was part of my service as a volunteer ... I never said I am an employee of the church,” he said.
He told the court that when his wife told her mother about the alleged rape, the mother said she was also raped. It was only in 2019 that the mother revealed that her rapist was allegedly Zondo.
“[When my wife] eventually told her mother that she had been raped, her mother said she had also been raped but did not elaborate. It was only in 2020 that she mentioned she was raped by the accused,” the witness said.
The witness was, however, distraught in court, repeatedly stating that he was emotionally unwell as he was affected by the alleged rape of his wife by the accused. This was mostly because he saw Zondo as a father.
The cross-examination is expected to continue on Thursday as it was adjourned due to the interpreter not feeling well.
Zondo faces 10 charges of raping seven women, most of whom were his church members.
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