A 34-year-old priest and traditional healer found guilty of raping three teenagers who attended his church, has been jailed to five life terms of imprisonment.
The rapist was sentenced in the Nquthu Regional Court on Monday.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that the man was convicted on multiple rapes that took place between October 2020 and August 2022 in the Mondlo area.
Explaining the case, NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the accused was a priest and traditional healer in the area.
“He met all three of the complainants at a church service on separate occasions.
“He informed them and their parents that they (the complainants), aged, 15, 17 and 18, were bewitched and needed cleansing.
“He told them that only he would be able to cleanse them.”
The NPA said when the victims arrived on separate occasions for the “treatment“, their parents were asked to leave.
“The accused then employed the same modus operandi with all three complainants, in that he would tell them that they needed to have sexual intercourse with him to be healed.
“Before raping them, he made them smoke snuff, then rubbed them with a ‘muthi’ all over their bodies.
“He told them that they would not be healed if they told anyone what he had done.”
The traditional healer raped two of the complainants more than once.
The NPA said one of the girl’s reported the rape to police, and this resulted in two other teenagers coming forward.
Ramkisson-Kara said in a victim-impact statement, one of the teenage girls said she had trusted the man, as he was a member of their church.
“Another complainant said that the incident traumatised her to the extent that she had to leave school. She said that she could not concentrate at school.”
The court ordered that his name be added into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
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