Raped ‘in the name of God’
"He told us that he wanted to heal her with his holy spirit. He wanted to sleep with her to remove the evil from her."
An inquiry has been opened after the bishop of a local church allegedly repeatedly raped a 28-year-old woman over the course of five years.
It is alleged the woman moved into a shack on the church grounds after the bishop told her that he would take care of her. She has lived in the shack since 2012 and was allegedly first raped by the bishop about three months after moving in.
She says that she informed the bishop that burglars had stolen pipes within the yard the night before. The bishop offered to stay on the church grounds to ensure she was safe. He got blankets from her and was going to sleep in the shack next to hers.
Later that evening, when she was dressing for bed, the bishop allegedly entered the room, tripped her, pinned her to the bed and raped her.
She alleges he slept next to her after committing the heinous act, and told her the next morning that he would kill her if she ever said anything.
The bishop allegedly limited the woman’s contact with her family. After five years of alleged sexual abuse from the bishop, the woman went to her brother and told him what the bishop had done.
“The bishop was a powerful married man who was trusted by more than 500 congregation members,” the woman’s brother said. “I understand why she didn’t want to come to us. No one would have believed her.”
Her brother said that he wanted to break the bishop’s neck after he found out, but he respected her so much that he asked her what she wanted to do.
The woman went to the hospital and had a full rape kit done to ensure enough evidence was collected. Then she opened a case against her alleged oppressor.
“Her cries for help weren’t recognised by some people, because he was a man of God,” her brother told the News.
The woman’s aunt, who was also a member of the bishop’s congregation, said she had noticed that the bishop’s sermons had become more erotic during the past year.
“We had a few services where the bishop asked members who sinned to remove their clothes completely,” the aunt said. “Then he would approach them, touch their private parts, and tell them they were healed – in front of an entire room full of people.”
The aunt also mentioned that the bishop admitted to sleeping with her niece, but only for alleged ‘healing purposes’.
“He told us that he wanted to heal her with his holy spirit. He wanted to sleep with her to remove the evil from her. She didn’t want it, but he was very persistent.”
Her aunt now says she is so afraid that the bishop will not be charged and he will move on to the next woman to rape.
“We are also afraid for her safety as the bishop has powerful people in his congregation that might hurt her if she is ever seen again.”
The bishop did not want to comment on the matter despite the News approaching him. The woman, who wished not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, was taken to Kagiso police station where her statement was taken.
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