Category: #africanews

The first witness in the rape trial of the Rivers of Living Waters Church leader, Bishop Stephen Zondo, is expected to be cross-examined in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old woman, alleges to have been repeatedly sexually assaulted by the pastor when she was seven-years-old.

She opened an assault case against him in May 2020.

Fifty five-year-old Zondo is facing eight charges of rape, one of indecent assault and one of defeating the ends of justice.

On Tuesday, the court heard how he allegedly offered to buy the silence of the witness.

Zondo is said to have offered her livestock and R25 000 in exchange for dropping the charges –  which she says she declined.

Stephen Zondo rape trial continues:

A meeting between her and Zondo, and their respective families followed.

She says during that meeting, the pastor denied the allegations and claimed he did not recall anything.

Despite this, he is said to have apologised to the alleged victim’s family, but not to her.

The witness also claims the bishop pleaded for forgiveness and asked her to name her price to keep the matter a secret.

2020 video, Bishop Zondo maintains innocence amid sexual abuse claims:

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The community of Modimong village near Taung in the North West has formed their own security structures that patrol the village every night. This follows the brutal murder of a 32-year-old resident.

Tshepang Seelo was killed by two suspects known to the community and his body was found in a river three days later.

Modimong is a quiet village located 10 kilometres from the main village of Taung.

Residents had their normally peaceful life disrupted by the brutal death of one of their own. Seelo and the woman he was out with that evening, Tsholanang Khokonyane were allegedly attacked by two suspects while they were on their way home.

“Two boys came and started fighting us. One grabbed me and the other grabbed Tshepang. The other was busy fighting him, while the other kicked me and told me to leave. They continued to fight him. So, I ran and went to one of the attacker’s parental home. I heard a voice, but no one opened. I went to the nearest tavern to seek help. I explained the incident to the residents. We checked everywhere but he was nowhere to be found,” says Khokonyane.

His mother Neo Seelo says his death is a tremendous loss to the family.

“As the mother of Tshepang, I am very hurt about what happened to my son. And he was a breadwinner. Now, I am asking myself when I am going back to work, who will look after my mother. As for those who were arrested, I want life sentence,” says Neo Seelo.

Community members went on the rampage soon after the incident, torching houses believed to be those of the suspects. They say the police failed them.

Gaobusetse Kanyane, a community member in Modimong village, says, “The police failed to assist us. As the community, we took a decision to assist the Seelo family to find their family member. From this point forward, we will not be seeing this kind of horrific acts happening because the body of the deceased was mutilated and dumped in a stream.”

Spokesperson for the Police, Colonel Amanda Funani says two suspects, who handed themselves over to the police soon after the incident, are expected to apply for bail in the Taung Magistrate’s Court.

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Police have confirmed the discovery of a head, believed to be that of a woman whose remains were found in a fridge in Protea Glen, Soweto on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Flavio Hlabangwane is in police custody on charges of murder.

Soweto man arrested after body parts found in fridge:

He was arrested after his girlfriend, who was visiting him, found the human remains and alerted authorities.

Police Spokesperson, Brenda Muridili says, “The police have found a human skull buried in a shallow grave next to Glen Ridge, Westanoria road, R558. The skull is linked to the human limbs found on Saturday. These body parts are being connected to a 23-year-old woman from Soshanguve in Pretoria.”

Residents of Protea Glen in Soweto have been left traumatised following the discovery of human body parts.

The owner of the house said he is finding it difficult to explain to his children what transpired.

The owner says that he was telephonically alerted to the gruesome discovery by residents.

The suspect’s case was on Monday postponed to next week at the Protea Magistrate’s Court. This is to allow him time to appoint a legal representative.   

NPA Spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, says, “(Flavio) Hlabangwane was remanded in custody until 22 November 2021 for him to apply for legal representation with Legal Aid South Africa. The case relates to the discovery of various female body parts inside a fridge at a room rented by the accused person.” 

The post [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT] Police confirm discovery of a human head believed to be linked to Protea Glen body parts case appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

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The high court in Pretoria has heard how Rivers of Living Waters Church leader, Bishop Steven Zondo allegedly offered to buy the silence of one of his rape accusers.

The 55-year-old faces eight charges of rape, one of indecent assault, and another of defeating the ends of justice.

He is accused of luring his victims on the pretext of praying for them.

Zondo has pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges.

The now 46-year-old woman, who is Zondo’s relative, has given a detailed account on how she was allegedly raped on three occasions by the church leader when she was just seven years old.

2020 video, Bishop Zondo maintains innocence amid sexual abuse claims:

And on all occasions, the preacher would allegedly give her R1 afterwards. She has told the court that during the third incident, the preacher was aggressive because of her screaming and crying when he entered the bedroom.

She also says she only disclosed the alleged incidents to her brother much later in life.

In May last year, she finally opened a sexual assault case against Zondo, 40 years after the alleged incidents.

A meeting between her and Zondo, and their respective families followed. She says during that meeting, the pastor denied the allegations and claimed he did not recall anything.

Despite this, he’s said to have apologised to the alleged victim’s family, but not to her.

The witness also claims the bishop pleaded for forgiveness and asked her to name her price to keep the matter a secret.

He allegedly offered her livestock and R25 000 among others, in exchange for dropping the charges, which she declined.

Cross examination is expected to continue on Wednesday.

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Residents of Qunu, the birthplace of the late former president Nelson Mandela, have been without a clean water supply for months. Water is a basic need and everyone has a right to clean drinking water, but residents in the village of Qunu in Mthatha have had to find other means to get the commodity. Their taps have been dry for the past eight months.

Residents have now resorted to fetching water from unclean water sources, which they share with animals.

“We don’t have water here. We get it from the river. But the people we vote for lie and say they do everything for us. We even experience constant power outages. Sometimes we sleep on empty stomach here in Qunu. We are struggling in this village of Dalibhunga,” says a resident.

“It’s been seven months without water. When we go to other places out of Mthatha and we tell people that we are from Qunu, they think we come from rich families, while we are as poor as everyone else. The water we drink from the river is full of diapers here,” another resident says.

“Here in Qunu, we struggle to get water. We fetch it from the river so we can do our laundry, then we depend on water tanks for drinking,” a resident said.

The OR Tambo District Municipality, which is responsible for water provision, is working on fixing the challenge.

“There was a challenge of water challenge in the area because of an electricity issue between us as a district municipality and Eskom. The matter was, however, later resolved and water was restored to the community and the community had water access until recently. The recent water outage is caused by a faulty valve that we have ordered as the municipality, and once it arrives, we will fix the system,” explains Zimkhitha Macingwane.

Water supply in the OR Tambo District has been an issue for a long time. This despite government’s multi-billion rand funding, meant for infrastructural development in the district.

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