A well known prophet from the Midvaal in Gauteng was on Thursday accused of rape, financial and emotional abuse at the hearings held by a Chapter 9 institution.
A victim who cannot be named told the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) that she was raped twice at a church last year.
Sowetan is withholding the name of the prophet because the Hawks did not respond to questions regarding a case opened against him. He also did not respond to requests for comment via emails. Two cellphone numbers went unanswered.
The woman said the alleged rapes happened during prayer sessions at the church.
"He told me that he will shoot and kill me if I tell anyone what he did."
She said she was summoned by the prophet to a garage on the premises of the church where she had to pray naked.
"He asked me who is my daughters biological father and that I need to take my clothes off to pray," she said.
After that she was told to walk to the connecting cottage where she was allegedly raped.
"He asked me how I'm feeling and I told him what he is doing is painful. I wanted to scream but he was heavy...afterwards he then said I must continue praying."
She said she was also given morning after pills to drink.
The woman told the commission that it was known that the prophet was not to be questioned by any of his congregants because he is a "man of God".
"He would teach us that prophets are people who are strange and that we must follow his instructions or something bad will happen to you," she said.
She said her family moved into the church after the prophet asked them to because he saw that they enjoyed being involved in the church
"He said in order for us to serve God, we must sell all our things or give them to him."
After finding out that her sister-in-law was also allegedly raped by him, they moved out of the church to find safety. It was only after leaving that she told her husband that she was also a victim of rape.
Her husband told the commission that he is terrified for the safety of his family after they ran away.
"This is the type of torment as a man you have to live with. As a man you are a protector and that protection was taken away from me," he said.
Another victim who testified in tears at the commission said she became suicidal after being allegedly raped by the same prophet.
"He said he is going to teach me things that I do not know," she said.
She said she was also given two pills to drink after the rape.
The hearings continue.
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