'He sexually assaulted her while I waited outside with our baby' — husband testifies in Bishop Zondo rape trial

A man held his baby outside while waiting for his wife to pray with rape-accused bishop Stephen Zondo, only to find out she was allegedly being sexually assaulted by the pastor.

The trial of the leader of the Rivers of Living Waters Ministries resumed in the Pretoria high court on Tuesday with the testimony of a state witness who is the husband of one of Zondo’s alleged victims.

The man told the court he had been married to his wife for nine years and joined the church when he was 14 years old.

He said on December 23 2018 after a Sunday church service, he was with his wife and their last-born child, chatting. They were approached by a “Mr Mthembu”, who works for Zondo, who told the wife the Bishop asked to see her in his office.

His wife followed Mthembu to Zondo’s office, leaving her husband to hold their baby. He saw his wife go into the office and Mthembu shut the door and stood outside.

“I took my child and we walked out of the entrance of the church. My daughter and I waited for some time and after a long time of waiting and standing there, that is when I got a phone call from the accused asking me where my wife was.”

He said his wife suddenly appeared, looking red in the face and puffy eyed as if she had been crying.

“I asked her if she is OK and she asked that we leave and go home.”

Zondo allegedly kept trying to call his wife but she refused to take his calls. This continued into the following morning when Zondo allegedly called the husband and, assuming the pastor wanted to speak to his wife, he passed her the phone. But she waved her hand in refusal.

“I started wondering what is happening and that is when she started shedding tears. We sat down and she started to explain to me that when they were in the office of the accused, the accused said he wants to pray for her marriage. He then asked her to sit on the sofa in his office and the accused told her to close her eyes so they can pray.”

Zondo allegedly told her to close her eyes as he was going to pray for her to have a prosperous marriage. However, he allegedly forced his genitals into her mouth, the court heard.

“She said when she opened her eyes the accused got shocked and she got off the sofa and ran to the door, opened the door and walked out of the office.”

The couple attended the first church service in January of 2019 but never returned to the church. Instead, they apparently received a call from Zondo in March 2019 where he asked to meet the couple to offer an explanation.

“He said the spirit that was in my wife was too strong for him so, that demon tempts him to behave like that. He explained that there was a spirit of rape which was in my wife.”

Zondo faces 10 charges of rape, with most of his victims allegedly women from his church. 

The trial is to continue on Tuesday with cross-examination of the witness by Zondo’s defence team.

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