Article by: Dumisane Dube
Controversial Rivers of Living Waters Church Leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo’s much-awaited sex trial was postponed in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
The 55-year-old church leader is facing charges of rape, contravening the Sexual Offences Act, as well as defeating the ends of justice.
It is alleged that one of the victims of the Bishop is a family member. The family member was raped while she was 8 or 9 years old, while other victims who were allegedly raped and/or sexually assaulted by him were members of his congregation.
The National Prosecuting Agency has filed 10 rape, indecent assault and defeating the ends of justice charges against Zondo.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana says the judge granted the defence a one-week postponement
“The trial was set to start today, however the defence requested the matter be postponed to 30 November as they were not ready to proceed. The state advocate opposed the postponement stating that the defence had enough time to prepare for the matter and that the state was ready to proceed with the trial. The judge granted the defence a one-week postponement,” said Mahanja.
The matter was postponed to 30 August 2021 for trial.
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