EDITORIAL | Be faithful to victims, not perpetrators

Serious charges against ‘men of the cloth’ should see their followers reconsider their unquestioning loyalty

10 May 2023 - 21:04

This week the high court in Pretoria heard testimony against Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo. He is accused of raping seven women, many of them members of his church, Rivers of Living Waters Ministries. One of the most appalling moments was when a member of his congregation testified how he told her “the spirit of rape was upon her”. A man she trusted, a supposed man of God, a man in a position of authority, told her this “spirit” was the reason he forced himself onto her. Not only is this an attempt at intimidating her, but also a preposterous way to excuse his alleged behaviour. ..