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Yoliswa Dube
MATTHEW chapter 18 verses 15 to 17 were used by the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church to launch an investigation into a case where a woman, a prominent lawyer, was indecently assaulted by a pastor of the church.

Pastor Brighton Ndebele is said to have gone to the lawyer’s workplace to discuss church business after which he solicited for a hug before he left.

When the lawyer declined, he forcibly pulled her by the hand and squeezed her to his chest before holding her waist and caressing her back and buttocks.

The woman narrated her ordeal to a fellow congregant before reporting the matter to the police.

Pastor Ndebele was convicted for the crime but the church, under the leadership of Pastor Gasiano Ngulube, rejected the conviction.

Instead, the church censured the woman’s husband for confronting Pastor Ndebele and reporting him to the police.

The woman was told she was being investigated for failing to follow Matthew 18 after Pastor Ndebele abused her.

According to the Bible scripture, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

The censure barred her husband from participating by voice or vote in the affairs of the church.

It also prevented him from leading any church-related activity and terminated his election or appointment to all positions in church.

The censure was however blocked by the High Court after the woman’s husband filed an urgent chamber application challenging the church’s decision to slap him with a seven-month censure without conducting a proper disciplinary hearing.

The victim said the church’s failure to deal with the matter gave her the impression that it accepts as normal “predatory sexual proclivities from its pastors”.

Scores of women have had incidents of sexual abuse perpetrated by their pastors swept under the carpet, in most instances to protect the pastor and the image of the church.

They have had to suffer in silence with the church increasingly becoming an instrument of oppression.

“It takes a strong breed of woman to be able to find their voice after being abused. Many feel they don’t want to cause drama by reporting a case of abuse, especially by their pastor. They would rather suffer in silence than report an incident of abuse because it might be inconvenient to the other person,” said Ms Juliet Moyo, a gender activist.

Women need to be aware of their rights and take charge whenever they are violated, she said.

“The more women keep quiet about incidents of abuse, the more we harbour the perpetrators. By speaking out, you don’t know who you’re saving from suffering the same. For all you know, this SDA pastor had abused other women in the church before but got away with it because no one had the guts to speak out about the abuse,” said Ms Moyo.

When a person is sexually abused, she said, it has a ripple effect on their family and social life as well.

“We need to appreciate that people are affected by sexual abuse in different ways. It doesn’t only affect the person who is abused but their family as well. If a married woman is sexually abused, it can also affect their marriage and consequently the children. Their work might be affected as well as their social relations. This lady must be applauded for speaking out and standing up against abuse,” said Ms Moyo.

Pastors appear more equal than others such that in most instances, they abuse people and get away with it. The pastor’s reputation is to be protected and the harmed is expected to get over the abuse.

“Churches have different doctrines and when it comes to dealing with issues of abuse where a pastor is involved, churches deal with cases differently.  It really depends on what the church believes in,” said Pastor Godfrey Mhlanga, a local clergyman.

He however said the church must correspond with the law and uphold the statutes of the State.

“The church has a role to play in fighting crime. If the church sweeps matters under the carpet, where will people find refuge if not in the church? The church should be more concerned about the welfare of its congregants. When a pastor commits a crime, the law must take its course,” said Pastor Mhlanga.

Although men of the cloth tout for justice, preach uprightness and “right-standing with God” from their pulpits, it is not always the case that they practise what they preach.

It would seem protecting the image of the church has become more important than its congregants to the extent of sacrificing them just to maintain the “good” image of the church.

Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube said the law being enforced by the police force should be the same law employed by the church.

“We believe churches should support the law. The law the police are using is the same law we believe good citizens are employing. We’ve been working with churches to fight crime and hope the church will not become an instrument of oppression,” said Asst Insp Ncube.

Beyond abuse of a sexual nature, congregants are scared to speak up on cases of theft, corruption or any crime perpetrated by their pastor.

“Men of God” are considered “holy” and incapable of committing crimes. When they do, their forgiveness is quickly advocated for in comparison to one who is not a pastor. That one must rot in jail.

Pastors are treated as holy mortals and not human beings who err and should be punished when they do.

“When people start to understand that pastors are flesh and blood like them, only then will they realise that they shouldn’t put themselves in compromising positions.

“You’re not supposed to trust any human being’s intention. Pastors and so called men of God accept the calling to spread the word of God. We turn them into ‘saints’ and when they fail, we’re disgusted and find fault with buildings or institutions that are supposed to be there for our growth,” said local pastor, Mthulisi Ncube.

He said victims of sexual abuse should report cases of abuse to the police even when the perpetrator is a pastor adding “men of God” are human beings who should face the law.

“That’s why we have this craze of so called prophets in Africa. They always do wrong but their followers are blind to their wrongs. Why? It’s because their followers are following them and not Jesus. After all, the Bible doesn’t say ‘For all have sinned except so called prophets’. It says, ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’. If you put your faith in man, you’re doomed.”

@yolisswa