Angry Newtown informal settlement residents in Mamelodi donated money to pay for the bail of a local pastor accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, threatening that they will ‘deal with him’ themselves.

The residents say they are willing to dig into their own pockets to raise bail for the accused on Tuesday.

Mamelodi East police spokesperson Constable Lethabo Mashiloane says the police strongly condemn the threat of vigilantism and discouraged the community from taking the law into their hands.

It is alleged that the 37-year-old pastor had raped the girl repeatedly since she was 10 years old. She told her father after the last rape in August.

Athalia Mapea of Ontekane Mogau children’s home says the pastor is well-known to the community and a close friend to the victim’s family.

It is alleged that the victim confessed to a friend that the pastor had been raping her since 2019 and had threatened to kill both her parents should she tell them.

Mapea says the friend told the victim that the pastor had also fondled her so they both decided to tell the victim’s father.

“The suspect was arrested on September 3 and today we are here to make sure that the court does not grant him bail, but should the court grant him bail, the community is ready to post the bail in order to deal with the accused permanently,” she says.

“We are shattered as the community of Newtown and therefore should the court grant the accused bail, the community is prepared to pay his bail and permanently remove him from our peaceful society,” says community representative, Tebogo Mohlala.

“We collectively donated money in case the court decided to grant the accused bail and if not enough, we will ask for more donations to bail him out.”

Themba Masango of civil movement, #Notinmyname says the pastor should not be granted bail under any circumstances.

“We cannot have men of the cloth as criminals and churches havens for criminals, our children and mothers go to these churches to seek spiritual guidance, nothing more,” says Masango.

“We are calling on the congregation to support the case against the pastor to show that it is against gender-based violence. Should it fail to do so we, as the community, will be forced to close the church down because it means the congregation is an accomplice and part of the problem in the community.”

The case has been postponed to October 5 for a bail hearing.

Man accused of raping stepdaughter

In another rape case, residents of Stoffel Park informal settlement in Mamelodi were up in arms picketing outside the court on Monday, demanding it not grant bail to a man accused of raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter.

It is alleged the accused lived with the mother and her daughter for 10 years and had been raping the daughter since she was six.

A relative says the child told to her cousin about the rape and that she had not told her mother for fear breaking up the relationship.

The relative says when the suspect was arrested, the Mamelodi East police found him sleeping in his stepdaughter’s bedroom.

She says the stepdaughter was traumatised and performing poorly at school.

Community representative, Clement Toto says the community of Stoffel Park is ‘calling for blood’.

“Children in Stoffel Park will no longer trust us as men who are supposed to protect them,” says Toto.

“We are not taking this case lightly… as a community we will petition the court to pleading with it not to grant the suspect bail when it sits for a bail hearing on September 28.’