Media coverage of abuse and rape significantly influences public perceptions. Unfortunately, when it comes to cases involving the church or faith-based organisations, there is a lack of in-depth reporting. Could this be contributing to the silencing of abuse within religious contexts? We often see heightened social media responses during current Gender-Based Violence or Femicide (GBVF) cases, followed by a lull until court proceedings and again between court hearings. This hinders a comprehensive understanding of the issue within the faith sector. By highlighting six media-reported cases and suggesting story angles, we aim to address this issue and extract valuable learnings for future actions.
Media Coverage Dynamics: A Fluctuating Response
Challenges for the Faith Sector
The absence of consistent media coverage makes it challenging for the faith sector to formulate effective responses. Issues for faith sector interventions such as the significance of victim impact reports, interventions within the sector, calls for harsher sentences, tailored therapeutic solutions for survivors and accompaniment of survivors throughout legal processes, and exploration of restorative justice mechanisms become difficult to address.
Examining Six Selected Cases
Pastor Possessed by Demons: The Oscillation of Media Narratives
In December 2021, 34-year-old Palesa Mothokwa faced a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend, a part-time pastor named Oscar Ngobeni, who threatened her and her children. Mothokwa, in subsequent articles from February 2022, revealed Ngobeni’s pattern of using religion to justify his abusive actions.
Despite widespread coverage, the media struggled to humanise Mothokwa, and the quotes lacked emotional depth, highlighting a need for more empathetic reporting that could mobilise more faith sector support.
Sexual assault at YMCA: Shedding Light on a Hidden Scourge
In another reported incident, a 61-year-old man allegedly sexually assaulted an 8-year-old on the premises of the YMCA in KwaMashu. The YMCA, a faith-based NGO dedicated to youth development, offers safe spaces for young individuals to explore their potential, with programmes like youth justice aimed at fostering resilience and encouraging active citizenship.
The details surrounding the perpetrator’s connection to the YMCA remained unclear from initial reports. While it was uncertain whether he presented himself as a leader or a tenant, the South African YMCA (SAYMCA) vehemently clarified that he held no leadership position. Shockingly, the child involved was purportedly his sixth victim, as revealed in some reports.
Despite limited media coverage, local organisations, activists, and SAYMCA actively supported court hearings, notably during the bail hearing. The SAYMCA released a statement condemning the act, and organisations like WWSOSA collaborated with the Gugu Dlamini Foundation to launch an online petition opposing the perpetrator’s bail—ultimately denied. Although the incident occurred towards the end of 2020 and the perpetrator was finally found guilty in October 2022 and sentenced to 23 years in prison there has been a noticeable absence of follow-up reports in the media.
Sexual grooming of young boys
A 51-year-old pastor failed to appear in court for a bail hearing in January 2022, even though he was in prison.
The suspect is the founder of a church that has branches in Daveyton on the East Rand, as well as Bergville and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. This case involves him allegedly sexually grooming boys. He faces three counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault. And it has been reported that more charges are expected.
This case involved a whistleblower Zelda Masango who walked in on the pastor when he was with one of the boys. She involved social workers which led to one of the parents’ going to the police.
“In his statement, Bishop Marothi Mashashane, president of the SA National Christian Forum (SANCF), said he was relieved that the pastor was finally facing the law after previous attempts to bring him to book failed.”
Interestingly, a senior pastor of the church said of the executive: “We’ve decided as the executive that we should give our father a chance to face whatsoever allegations he is facing… We are not commenting on the charges, on whether they are true or false. We are giving our father and his family space to deal with whatsoever they are facing.”
This case has been treated only as a news story and there do not appear to be any background articles about the boys. Only recently has there been public coverage and understanding of the extent of rape of young boys so it is important that these cases lead to media coverage that looks at the nature and extent of the damage this does to boys and how this feeds into a generation of boys growing up who are bottling up the hurt and often become abusive as men, or commit suicide.
Unmasking Darkness: The Omotoso Case and the Shadows of Exploitation
Pastor Timothy Omotoso, founder of the Jesus Dominion International church, stands accused of heinous crimes that have shocked the nation. This feature sheds light on the extensive legal proceedings and media coverage surrounding the case,)aiming to uncover the profound impact on survivors and address the broader issues of human trafficking.
The Charges and Legal Battles
Detailing the severity of the charges against Omotoso—rape, human trafficking, and racketeering— media articles explored the court proceedings, highlighting the denial of bail and the challenges faced in pursuing justice. Emphasis was placed on the motion for mistrial and the implications of protracted delays on witness testimonies.
There was also a sense of sensationalism which degraded the dignity of some of the witnesses, notably when the prosecution took to questioning one witness about specific and irrelevant details of the sexual act (including ‘How deep did the penetration go?
This is not uncommon, and flies in the face of the professed victim-centredness of the legal system. It brings to mind the rape case against Jacob Zuma, with reports being clearly biased, including relishing in the prosecution’s aggressive questioning and exposing details of the sex life of the complainant (known only as Khwezi at the time, and a clear bias towards the accused. This, together with the vilification she faced from the ANC, caused her to have a complete breakdown and she was forced to flee to Botswana for her safety and sanity.
Allegations of Sexual Exploitation
Examining the testimonies of numerous women, some as young as 13, exposes the disturbing details of their ordeals within their congregations. Specific instances, such as the “happy hour” ritual involving sweets and biscuits, underscore the manipulation and abuse perpetrated by unscrupulous religious leaders like Omotoso.
Human Trafficking and its Nuances
While media coverage has been regular, there is a notable gap in addressing the complexities of human trafficking. We advocate for a deeper exploration of the network involved, geographical implications, and the dual nature of labour and sexual trafficking. Unpacking these aspects is crucial for understanding the full extent of the allegations.
Political Interference and Xenophobia
Acknowledging concerns raised by the Executive Director of Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi, the perceived political interference and “xenophobic attitude” towards Nigerians was highlighted. This raises questions about justice, fairness, and the need for a nuanced approach in handling cases involving foreign nationals.
As the Omotoso case continues to unfold, with the last court case in August 2023, this feature serves as a call for comprehensive reporting that goes beyond legal intricacies. By unravelling the layers of human trafficking allegations and shedding light on the survivors’ experiences, we can contribute to a broader conversation about justice, exploitation, and the urgent need for societal change.
“It’s our secret”
In an ongoing case, a Rivers of Living Waters Church leader, 55-year-old Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo is facing 10 charges against him, including rape.
The case is in court now and there have been questions as to whether the alleged survivors should be interrogated on their earlier evidence before the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural Religious and Linguistic Communities. Much of the reporting thus far has been on technicalities of the case, although the information cited here does show how sexual predators lure children into their traps.[1]
One woman who has testified alleges that she was raped in 1980 when she was 7 years old and Zondo was a teenager. She told the story of her being ‘selected’ to wash the Bishop’s socks and the other children playing outside were told not to come in and bother her and the Bishop.
She looked upon him as an uncle and said, “I said uncle, you are hurting me… afterwards he told me it’s just our secret. He gave me R1 and said I must spend it at school.” He also gave her some sweets. This was the beginning of a series of similar incidents this child had to endure.
In her testimony last year, she said that her uncles had called a family meeting and Zondo was present, admitted what he had done and apologised. Her uncles tried to pressurise her to drop the legal case. She claims she was offered a ‘consolation’ which included cattle.
The church itself has been complicit in this silencing also. Bishop Zondo’s senior female pastor had previously told the commission that his rape accusers were lying.
Once again, the humanity of the survivors seems to be neglected both in the way the case is unfolding and how it is being reported. This feeds into the dominant ‘rape culture’ in society, which thrives on the dehumanisation of survivors and renders their agony and struggles to heal invisible. This minimises the human cost of rape and abuse, and creates a numbing effect, when we should be growing in outrage, particularly in cases involving religious leaders.
Christian community a living hell
The horrors of KwaSizabantu Mission in KwaZulu-Natal have been an open secret for going on two decades with sporadic media coverage of stories or statements of people who have ‘escaped in the night’ or embarked on a ‘torturous exodus’.
KwaSizabantu Mission is an enclosed Christian community ruled with an ‘iron fist’ by its founder, Erlo Stegen who passed away in 2023, and built on a huge farm that sells vegetables and bottled water to South Africa’s biggest supermarkets and the export market.
Survivor Erika Bornman in her book Mission of Malice gives her account of how KwaSizabantu waged emotional, psychological, and sexual warfare on he until she finally managed to break free and walk away at the age of 21. It was her story in 2000 that opened up the way for others to begin to come forward. A fascinating story, this did receive some good media coverage.
Articles reported the allegations of severe abuse, torture, sodomy, rape and virginity testing at KwaSizabantu Mission’s Domino Servite School (DSS) that were outlined by a witness who testified at a CRL Rights Commission probe into the mission on behalf of students and going all the way back to the 1960s. The Commission cleared Stegen of allegations of rape and human rights abuses after an investigation.
The reporting said that when these crimes were reported to the mission leadership, they were “covered up, or the victims themselves were blamed and expelled from the mission and/or the school.” Apparently proper medical care was not provided either.
One of the witnesses spoke of both her and her niece being raped, saying she had been sexually abused by one of the leaders, but was “made to believe it was okay”.
In all these articles, the media did not interview or quote faith leaders on their take on the KwaSizabantu series of sagas. News24 did a deeper investigation available to paid subscribers.
Silence of the faith sector
In most of the cases that were reported on, there was little input from the faith sector. Further, there have been precious few investigative articles linked to these news reports. Reporting fails to link individual acts of alleged abuse to the teachings in the faith institutions that may create an environment for such abuses to take place. GBV is also perpetrated by faith leaders – which is probably why there is also silence on behalf of the faith sector. We need to understand and intentionally counter theological and ideological roots of abuse in the faith sector if we are ever to address it effectively. There is huge opportunity for the faith sector to step in, give comment and work with media in the handling of these cases.
That said, there have been many occasions where the church or faith-based organisations have made bold public statements. We Will Speak Out South Africa has published two to three media statements annually since 2027 in response to abuse cases that come to light in the media. The Faith Action to End GBV Collective’s media and social media campaigns since 2021 have tried to insert critical faith perspectives into the overall narratives surrounding public cases – although these are rarely taken up by mainstream journalism to engage deeply with the faith dimensions of sexual abuse in churches in particular. During 2023, the Interfaith GBVF Campaign has highlighted the role of the faith sector in ending GBVF, but there is a long way to go before progressive faith perspectives occupy anything like a dominant space in social and mainstream media..
This initial small study highlights the urgency of ensuring that faith-inspired alternative public statements are picked up by the mainstream media and on social media, until members of our growing faith movement to end GBV are seen as thought leaders and experts to shape a new narrative of the role of the faith sector in turning the tide against GBV in South Africa.
Some specific ideas: What can the faith sector do?
To close, we offer some general suggestions for what we can do in practice, but this is also an invitation to others to think creatively and strategically about how progressive faith voices can become increasingly vocal in contested media and social media spaces, so as to begin to break the silence on our ‘little secrets’ and call for deep repentance and transformation of our places of worship and teaching.
- Monthly tracking of cases in the media involving faith leaders and GBV is something we as the Faith Action to End GBV Collective need to take on as a routine task, as part of our joint advocacy against faith-sector abuse of power..
- We need to keep media coverage alive and open everyday conversations about each case as it progresses through the media cycles: appearances, bail etc. We should make much more systematic use of social media, and perhaps collaborate with other social media campaigns highlighting the plight of victims of abuse such as Women for Change and others.
- We need in this process to comment specifically on biased reporting through reviewing the terminologies used. Eg in most media articles reviewed, the word ‘survivor’ was never used, thus reducing those reporting abuse to the legal category of ‘victim’, which contributes to them being viewed as passive ‘victims’ rather than people with agency and dignity with a right to fight for justice.
- We can prepare ‘tips’ and ‘signs of abuse’ and ‘what to do’ info sheets for members of the faith sector wishing to engage the media and advocate for justice and dignity for survivors who have dared to report abuse.
- We need to build a stronger sense of solidarity and find ways to amplify the voices of protestors and activists present at court appearances.
- Perhaps we can undertake investigative pieces on GBV cases within the faith sector, or if funding allows, undertake a baseline research study to ascertain how internal abuse is being handled by various religious institutions as well as understanding better the contributions of progressive faith leaders and activists. This can be achieved by engaging people of faith in different ways, for instance holding safe-space dialogues, producing poetry readings or publications, drama, video or art projects.
- Finally, we need to use ‘calendar days’ more strategically to contribute alternative narratives disrupting destructive norms in the faith sector and in society, and amplify the voices of women and others most directly affected by gender injustice and gender-based violence – eg. International Men’s Day, 16 Days of Activism, Women’s Day, NGO Day etc.
[1] That said, this was reported in court so more investigation on impact could be done. The issue of open court or in-camera testimony is being decided on a case-by-case basis of each of the women giving testimony.