My wife had an affair with Archbishop Zondo, says man whose marriage broke up

"My wife was sleeping with a picture of Archbishop Zondo." These were the words of a man who claims that Archbishop Stephen Zondo broke up his marriage after allegedly having an affair with his wife and using her for money.

Zondo has since refused to comment on any allegations made. 

Sowetan has decided not to name the man to protect his children. The man was speaking at the second day of the CRL Rights Commission hearings into the leader of the Rivers of Living Waters Ministry who has been accused of rape and financial misconduct. 

The man told the commission that after his wife joined the church, their family life changed for the worse because of demands Zondo was making on his wife. "I started getting jealous of Zondo. On Father's Day she would post messages and statuses about him but not for me. Zondo got expensive birthday gifts but I would get nothing but a 'happy birthday'," he said.

He said his ex-wife was unemployed at the time and he would take out loans to fund her business ideas but the money was actually going to the church. "She was unemployed so I would start projects for her to do and she would take the money to the church," he said. 

He said he also found messages between the two of them where her nude pictures were shared with Zondo. They also had to hire a helper because she was no longer able to clean the house because of her church "duties". 

"He would call her while we were in bed and she would immediately jump to go and lock herself in the car to talk to him," he said. 

The man said the biggest confrontation they had was when he found lingerie and massage oils in her overnight bag after going to an all-night prayer. This led to a physical confrontation where he hit her and she bit him. He was arrested. 

"I told her, 'I'm not going to continue fighting for your love'," he said.

Earlier in the day, one of Zondo's closest confidantes, Reverend Andile Mali, told the commission that he was left broke by the time he was kicked out of the church. "When I first started in the church I had five cars. By the time I left I had one car," he said. 

Mali said he met Zondo in 2012 when he was still a presenter at VUT FM in the Vaal. He said a lot of people had already started making allegations about his crimes and he decided to approach Zondo for a comment. "I told him the allegations of the community and we had an interview...he even took me on a tour of the church," he said. 

After they hit it off Zondo eventually invited him to join the church and even held a birthday party for him. Mali ended up being a pastor at the Free State branch of the church. 

Mali said after his appointment he questioned Zondo about money in the church which led to Zondo preaching about him being an enemy. "He preached that we will be enemies the moment I interfere with his international matters," said Mali. 

Mali said after some of the staff members of the branch sided with him they were kicked out. By 2018 he was dismissed. "Old people would give him grants and learned people would take out loans for him. It was unbelievable how educated people were being misled," he said. 

Meanwhile, another man who went to the church because he wanted healing for his marriage told the commission that he made large donations from his pension payout after losing his job. "I was told that you don't see a man of God empty-handed," he said. 

"I paid for band equipment...I bought him cows. I did all of this because I wanted stability in my home. I've been used. In my mind I was serving God but I was in a cult," he said.