The disgraced holly man lied to the girls when he molested them.
He made them think that with sex, he was chasing away the demons from them.
By Jonk wa Mashamba
jonk@alexreporter.co.za
South African High Court: Limpopo Division, Polokwane sentenced to life in prison a 58-year-old pastor, James Devine Thubakgale, for rape, common assault and, calling another person a witch this week.
Thubakgale of Devine Deliverance Church, based at Seshego, reportedly introduced himself to his followers as a powerful man of God.
He cheated on them by telling them that he could cure the sick and drive out the devil.
He said he was sent to this world to rescue them.
He is said to have required to be called a judge as he was going to be a judge with God on the day of judgement.
He instructed the congregation to bring all their money and even their retirement savings to the church.
His followers respected and obeyed his orders, for they believed that he was part of the holy trinity and was closest to God. No matter what he said, they’d do for him.
The dishonored man of cloth went after girls under 16 and promised them marriage. He said that God wanted them to marry him.
He raped the girls in a lodge, in his motor vehicles and also in their bedrooms that he, the pastor, was responsible for leasing.
His victims were afraid of him after he told them that if they refused to marry him or sleep with him, God would punish them.
They were also threatened with death and illness in their families if they refused to sleep with him.
The victims obeyed his rules and when they challenged him, he scolded them and called them witches possessed by evil minds.
He assaulted them at the sight of other worshippers. All of this occurred from 2010 to 2017.
Thubakgale is already in prison after the Mankweng Regional Court sentenced him to two life sentences for raping two minor girls in the 2011 and 2012 incidents.
The sentence was handed down on September 30, 2020.
The state prosecutor, advocate Eric Mabapa, asked the court to remove the pastor permanently.
from the community.
Mabapa argued that the offender abused his position when helping people and abused women and children.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment plus 10 years’ imprisonment on two counts of rape, common assault and four months of treating someone as a witch this week.
