Pastor Caught up in ‘sex Abuse’ Row -hawks Look in to Matter after Women Report Popular ‘prophet’

By Mbali Tanana
Dispatch Live
June 3, 2017

http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2017/06/03/pastor-caught-sex-abuse-row-hawks-look-matter-women-report-popular-prophet/

A popular Eastern Cape “prophet”, who hosts pop-up services at several public areas, has come under scrutiny by the Hawks following serious allegations from some of the women from his congregation.

The flamboyant “prophet” Mndayi Njengele, believed to be 44 years old, has a following in Cape Town, Keiskammahoek, King William’s Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mthatha and his hometown, Dutywa. He stands accused of taking advantage of scores of women in his church, with some going as far as making allegations of sexual abuse against him.

IN SPOTLIGHT: ‘Prophet’ Mndayi Njengele is at the centre of ’abuse’ complaints

The women – who had organised themselves into a WhatsApp group, of about 20 – became desperate after they were allegedly turned away from a police station where they went to lay a charge against Njengele, who leads the “Wound of Christ: Nxeba lika Yesu” church.

In a moment of desperation, they approached former PSL referee and well-known community activist Ace Ncobo to intervene. In an e-mail to Ncobo – with an attachment of the claims against Mndayi – one of the women wrote: “We are +-50 victims, the police laughed when three of us went to open a case in Dutywa. Please help”.

The women had also approached the Saturday Dispatch where one of them, a distraught and sobbing woman Julia* (not her real name) visited the newspaper’s offices, claiming she had been humiliated by Njengele during a church service held at the Scenery Park hall, a fortnight ago. The visit to this newspaper’s offices came a day after the said church service.

The women said Ncobo had assisted them by referring them to the Hawks. The Hawks have now become involved and an investigator has interviewed some of the women. Eastern Cape Hawks spokeswoman Anelisa Feni said late yesterday: “We confirm that we are conducting an inquiry into the matter. There is no investigation, as yet”.

Julia, who claimed to have been manipulated by the prophet to leave her husband, said Njengele had asked that she be physically removed from the church after allegedly calling her a witch and a seducer. He also reportedly told other congregants that she had lured him into bed.

She said: “Before the service we had an argument over the phone because he had made a married woman pregnant and when he saw me at the service he became angry and lied about me seducing him and he called me a witch.

“He demanded that men in his church carry me and throw me out of the hall [which they did]. It was just after 11pm in a high-risk area where I could’ve been killed. I was all alone. That’s when I went to the nearby police station,” she said.

Police spokeswoman Hazel Mqala confirmed that the woman visited the Scenery Park police station, where she reported the incident and asked to be taken home.

“She complained of humiliation and being called names by her pastor, but she did not open a case, but merely asked to be transported home.

“Due to jurisdiction restraints, the police took her to her friend who was living nearby,” said Mqala.

A team from the Saturday Dispatch called Njengele for comment regarding the allegations.

He requested that they meet him at the East London City Hall where he was hosting the church service on the Sunday, May 21.

A few minutes prior the service Njengele attended to the Saturday Dispatch team, flanked by elders from his church.

In his defence Njengele showed the team an SMS he received from Julia on June 30 2016, in which she was apologising to him. It is unclear what she was apologising for.

Said Njengele: “This is just to show you how long this has been going on for. So many women have been accusing me of all sorts of things, others are inside the church and I call them so you can hear for yourself,” Njengele said.

He admitted that a number of women had made allegations against him. This, he said, was: “God’s will”.

“This is just another way God is trying to spread the gospel about our church, because if there weren’t any negative rumours, the media would not have any interest in me and my church. Nobody can question God’s plan,” he said.

In the WhatsApp group started by the women, they shared stories of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of the prophet.

“He has slept with so many of the women in the church and discarded them, and later humiliated those women, calling them witches, despite having promised marriage to so many of them.

“It’s time we hold him accountable and do something about him,” said one woman.

“It is terrible what happened to the young lady who had been a lead singer of the church choir. She recently had a stroke after being depressed for a long time, since [her encounter with the prophet] when she moved to Cape Town to live with the prophet after matric. She and her family believed she was going to be enrolled into university,” wrote another woman.

With regards to investigations under way about me, that is the first I am hearing of it,” Njengele said.

Ncobo could not be reached for comment on the matter.