Pretoria – A 41-year-old pastor from the “Jesus Is The Answer Ministries” (JITAM) in Mamelodi East has been sentenced to life in prison for raping two children.
This is after he was convicted of rape of a 12-year-old girl and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, both of whom were congregants at his church.
Commenting on the conviction on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it welcomes the life imprisonment sentence plus five years’ direct imprisonment meted out to the pastor by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Although the pastor can not be named, the court ordered that his name be entered into the Register of Sexual Offenders.
He was further declared unfit to work with children and to possess a firearm.
Narrating events leading to the pastor’s conviction and sentence, NPA Gauteng Spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said in November 2021, the 13-year-old girl arrived early for choir practice at the church.
She found the pastor outside, and he instructed her to enter the church building with him.
There was no one else around.
The pastor asked the 13-year-old girl about serving in the church and promised to provide the child with anything she wanted.
However, when the pastor fondled her breasts and buttocks, the shocked child walked out of the church.
By then, other church members had begun arriving for the choir practice.
In the more serious incident, on 9 April 2022, the pastor visited a home in Mamelodi, where a 12-year-old girl was alone.
“After learning that the parents of the victim were not home, he entered the house, complimented the victim, and promised to marry her while touching her breast and buttocks,” stated Mahanjana.
“Thereafter, he pushed the victim on the sofa, undressed both of them, and raped her before leaving.”
At some point, the two young girls shared what the pastor had done to them.
On 7 August 2022, the girls gathered enough courage and opened up to the stepfather of the 12-year-old and told him of how the pastor had abused them.
A week later, after probing the matter further, the stepfather informed the mother of the 13-year-old about the girl’s ordeal.
On the same day, 16 August 2022, the mother reported the matter to the police.
After investigations by the police’s Family Sexual Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), the pastor was arrested at his place of residence on 30 August 2022 and has been in custody since.
XXX said the NPA successfully opposed his release on bail.
Both victims were taken to Mamelodi Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), where they received medical care, psychological and legal assistance.
In court, the pastor pleaded not guilty, claiming that the stepfather of the 12-year-old child was falsely accusing him because he wanted to take his position as a pastor in the church.
However, State Prosecutor Andries Ntjana presented compelling evidence from Dr. Lukhozi from TCC, who examined the 13-year-old rape survivor.
During sentencing, through his legal representative, the pastor begged for leniency, saying he was a first-time offender with three children to care for.
The pastor, who has been in custody for more than three years, asked the court to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence.
However, Prosecutor Ntjana argued that rape is a serious offence, that is violent by nature and takes away a child’s childhood.
Worse, the pastor committed offenses against vulnerable children who trusted him and saw him as a father.
Therefore, he asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
In sentencing, Magistrate Lynn Pillay agreed with the state that the pastor committed serious offences prevalent in the court’s jurisdiction and showed no remorse.
Furthermore, she said it was the responsibility of the courts to protect communities from such perpetrators.
Magistrate Pillay said she found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing a sentence of life in prison for the paedophile pastor.
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng, Advocate Marika Jansen van Vuuren, commended Ntjana, stating, “These cases provide justice and remove violent criminals from our streets.”
Mahanjana said the NPA urges vigilance, prompt reporting of abuse, and support via TCCs, which offer medical, psychological, and legal aid.
This case highlights parents’ critical role in recognising and acting on abuse signs.
