Times Of Swaziland: ‘PASTOR ACCUSED OF RAPE PROMISED ME  GOOD LIFE’

‘PASTOR ACCUSED OF RAPE PROMISED ME  GOOD LIFE’
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BY SIBUSISO SHANGE on 12/08/2020 01:13:00


MBABANE - “I fell in love with the pastor because he promised me a good life.
“He had done a lot of good things for me.”
These were the words of a 17-year-old pupil, who accused Pastor Themba
Trustworthy Mavuso of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
The pupil, who attends one of the high schools around Mbabane, alleged in court
that she was engaged by the man of God concerning her behaviour.
She claimed that during their engagement, Pastor Mavuso asked her to disclose
everything about her life so that he could help her as a father.  The pupil
claimed that Mavuso went to an extent of promising to provide for all her needs
as a parent.
She told the court that she was taken to the pastor by her parents for
counselling.
*Dumsile told the court that as time went on, Mavuso suggested that they should
have sexual intercourse, which she alleged happened three times.
The minor said while preparing to go to a church camp one fateful day, she
happened to leave her cellphone in the house.
She claimed that her sister searched the cellphone and discovered some romantic
chats between her and the pastor.
Anger
“When I returned to the house, my sister asked what was happening between me
and Pastor Mavuso. I told her the whole story. However, my sister showed no
signs of anger,” she stated.  Dumsile informed the court that after some time,
her sister and mother invited her to town to meet her brother who wanted to give
her something.
To her surprise, the minor stated that the duo led her to the Mbabane Police
Station.
She told the court that upon arrival at the police station, a police officer
asked her to reveal everything concerning her alleged relationship with Mavuso.
“I narrated the whole story before the police officers and they advised me to
go to Mbabane Government Hospital for medical examination. I then returned the
medical form to the police station,” she claimed. During cross-examination,
Advocate Mduduzi ‘Tsotsi’ Mabila, who is representing Mavuso with
instructions from lawyer Linda Dlamini, asked Dumsile if she would reveal names
of all people she had sexual intercourse with before the alleged incident.
In response, the minor stated that she would not divulge any name because she
never had sexual intercourse before the alleged incident.
Advocate Mabila further put it to Dumsile that her biological mother and sister
informed the court that she was sexually active.
Wayward
He asked the pupil why her mother and sister would fabricate a story against her
under oath. Mabila put it to the pupil that at the time of the alleged incident,
she (Dumsile) was a wayward child.
The minor stated that she did not know how her mother and sister arrived at
telling the court that she was sexually active.  Mabila further pointed out that
the doctor’s report stated that Dumsile felt no pain during the examination,
meaning she was sexually active.  The pupil responded that there was nothing
sinister about her feeling no pain during the examination because she had
allegedly had sexual intercourse three times with Mavuso.
Mabila then referred Dumsile to the statement she recorded with the police.  He
pointed out that in her statement, the pupil never mentioned that her mother and
sister invited her to town to meet her brother before she was taken to the
police station. The advocate stated that even Dumsile’s sister never mentioned
that part in her evidence-in-chief.
“You omitted this because it never happened,” Mabila told the minor.
He referred the pupil to paragraph two of the statement where it read; “EWC
Mavuso said he loves me. I agreed that I love him too.”
Mabila observed that the pupil changed her statement in her evidence and claimed
that Mavuso called her to his church to discuss her life.
Proposed
Mabila put it to the pupil that she never mentioned in her statement that she
spoke to Mavuso as a daughter but portrayed him as a man who just proposed love
to her. “The church and the law frown upon people who tell lies. In court, you
said you know Mavuso as your pastor but in your statement you claimed that
Mavuso proposed to you and promised you good things in life. You told this court
that you were enticed by the promises of a good life to accept the proposal from
Mavuso. Which of your lies do you want the court to believe?” asked the
advocate.
The pupil stated that the court should believe the testimony she made in court.
He also put it to her that the pastor instructed him that during their
engagement, the pupil confided that she was in a love relationship with a
certain boy from her area. He claimed that the minor admitted that the boy broke
her virginity.
However, the pupil denied the allegations and insisted that she had sexual
intercourse with the pastor on numerous occasions.
The matter was postponed to October 13, 2020 for continuation.
*Not real name to protect identity of minor.