Update

GEORGE NEWS - Thembalethu residents are fuming after a congregant was allegedly raped by an Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) pastor late in December.

A 24-year-old woman is accusing the pastor of raping her inside the ECG church in Thembalethu during the early hours of Saturday 28 December after she was invited by the pastor for a late-evening prayer the previous evening.

She said after arriving at the church at about 22:00 on Friday 27 December, the pastor asked about her background, including details of her current relationship and ex-boyfriend.

"After we exchanged messages on Messenger about us meeting in church, he came to pick me up at my house. I never suspected that he had ulterior motives. We then went to church and he offered to advise me about my life," she said.

She said after they spoke, the pastor took her back home where they shared a few words including a good night hug. "He wanted to come inside, but I wouldn't allow him inside as it was untidy, but he hugged me in an uncomfortable way and gave me a baby kiss on my mouth which shocked me. I didn't suspect anything as I trusted him as I would my dad."

After this, to her surprise, the pastor said they needed to go back to church and talk some more. She hesitated, but eventually agreed. 

"When we arrived at the church we sat next to the pulpit and he asked for my favourite song and then played it. He took my right leg and placed it in his lap. That is when I started feeling unconformable, because it was just the two of us and I realised he had locked the church's security door. I moved away from him and he said 'let's go', and switched off the lights. As we approached the door he dragged me by my hand and pushed me against the wall and started kissing me," she said.

"I pushed him away, asking him why he is doing this, but he ignored me and pulled down my pants. He then lifted me up like a baby and carried me onto a couch next to the pulpit. He forced himself on me. I resisted, but became powerless."

The arrest
She said after the ordeal the pastor took her back home and later on Saturday she opened a case with the police and went to see a doctor.

Southern Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Christopher Spies confirmed that the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit arrested a 33-year-old male suspect on Friday on a charge of rape.

A section of the ECG church was damaged when it was set alight just hours before the pastor appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Monday 6 January. The court was filled to capacity with people who supported the pastor as well as those who opposed his release. The case was postponed to Monday 13 January for a bail application and the pastor remains in custody.

Community members demanding no bail for the accused outside the George Magistrate's Court on Monday 6 January. From left are Thandi Qatana, Nonkosi Mpela and Thumeka Baleni. Photos: Zolani Sinxo

ECG Church
The national office of ECG in Pretoria announced that it has suspended the pastor indefinitely. Pastor Samuel Dulungana said ECG South Africa has a zero tolerance policy against gender-based violence. "As a church, we have systems in place to ensure that women and children are protected and safeguarded," he said.

The church is no stranger to controversy as its multi-millionaire leader, Shepherd Bushiri, was accused of embezzling ECG funds in 2016. He was investigated by the Hawks last year in connection with allegations of money laundering and fraud. 

His trial will start in June. There were also calls for the church to be shut down after three women died during a stampede at the church in December 2018.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Naledi Chirwa was criticised after a video of her and Bushiri surfaced on social media.