Celani Sikhakhane
The pastor of a Zion church in Ulundi has been handed two life sentences for raping his 13-year-old step daughter.
Pastor Menzi Computer Madela was sentenced on Friday by the Mashona Magistrate’s Court in Ulundi.
Madela was caught sexually assaulting the teenage girl by her mother in 2018, in the Mabeka area in Ulundi, in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
After Madela fled the scene, leaving his jacket and one of his running shoes behind, the victim’s mother took her to the local hospital to be examined.
Ulundi police told Scrolla.Africa that they are satisfied with Madela’s sentence.
“We feel vindicated because we used to arrest rapists but you would see them later walking freely,” said one officer, who did not wish to be named.
However, police said the 42-year-old pastor has a sizable following, and they remain concerned for the safety of his victim and her mother.
One officer revealed that rape victims will often face threats from community members who support the accused man, especially if he is a prominent figure within the community.
Ulundi – alongside Nongoma Dumbe – reports the most cases of gender-based violence in KwaZulu-Natal, according to the police.
In August, Ulundi women took to the streets to protest the recent spike of sexual assault.
“It is quite stressful to work on these cases, especially here in Zululand, because young women are being raped and killed. At some point you would find that a woman has been raped and murdered in a gruesome way,” said an Ulundi policeman, who wished to remain anonymous.
“But what is happening in the Ulundi Magistrate’s Court is giving us hope that those incidents might decrease.”
