BishopAccountability.org
	Pastor Accused of Sodomising Male Nurse By Mfanukhona Nkambule Weekend Observer December 22, 2007 http://www.observer.org.sz/weekend/main.php?id=40558§ion=mainweek A pastor from one of the well-known evangelical churches in Swaziland, Nazarene, has been suspended from the pulpit on allegations that he sexually abused a church member ,who happens to be a male nurse at Matsanjeni South Clinic. The pastor reportedly stirred the hornet's nest when he advised the nurse against marrying a Christian lady from the Zion Sect. Thereafter, allegations started doing rounds that the pastor was jealous of the nurse because the nurse's proposed marriage would deprive him of sexual favours from him. So serious were the allegations that the local church committee was divided - with some refuting the accusations and others claiming they (allegations) held enough water to put the pastor on ice. Pastor Madvonsela from the Nazarene Church at Ka-Shewula in the East of Swaziland confirmed to Weekend Observer that he was indeed suspended for sins he had never committed or imagined committing. He wondered how he could have stooped so low and sodomised Nhlanhla Mnisi because he was happily married and being sexually satisfied at home by his beautiful wife. "I have a wife and two children. I married my wife in 1999. I just want to tell you that I know the case you are talking about and I have been accused of sexually abusing a man - something I have never done but the truth will be revealed one day," said Pastor Madvonsela. Now, the Mnisis are angry with the pastor. At one stage, he was invited to the Mnisis for a talk. He was held hostage from 9p.m to 3a.m. He said nine family members would sometimes shoot up and speak at once, ordering him to confess to crimes he never committed. "On September 15, 2006, the Mnisis told me that I don't want their child to marry because I sexually abuse him. They even went to the police post to report me but the matter never went to the court because I was never charged. The officers there told me of the accusations. "I enquired from Nhlanhla telephonically why I was being insulted like that. Let me tell you this, Nhlanhla disassociated himself from the accusations and told me that he never informed his family that I was abusing him sexually," explained the pastor. He said they then arranged to meet the Mnisi family. "We drove to Matsapha (Ka'Mshayazafe) where we met Pastor Gideon Mnisi, his father who declined to talk to me on the basis that the matter had been reported to the family," he said. He said he went to the Mnisi family to apologise for giving Nhlanhla advice that did not go down well with his family. However, he said the nature of the apology was questioned as the family members joined in and lashed out at him, saying he should confess to "another thing" - not something that was not an issue. He said he did not know what he should apologise for, but the family insisted that they would not allow him to go till he confessed to 'something' he did to their child. "There were seven in total; they all wept, I mean weeping at once and I was the only one who was not weeping," he related to the news desk. He said Nhlanhla's uncle, Luke had to comfort Pastor Gideon who was at pains trying to coerce him to confess to sexually abusing Nhlanhla. He said a leading question was posed whereby he was asked to explain to the family if there was 'something' he and Nhlanhla were doing. Seeing that he had been detained for many hours - with the situation gradually becoming explosive, the accused pastor narrated, he relieved the Mnisis by a simple answer:"Yes, there is something we are doing". "A piece of paper was brought and I was made to sign against what they had written about me," said the pastor. The pastor said Nhlanhla's mother went to the President of the Nazarene East District to register her complaints against him. He said the president, Rev. Timothy Dlamini had asked him to write a letter of resignation by that time. He said he refused adamantly to resign because he did not want to incriminate himself. He said it was in June 2007 when the East District President asked him to resign. On September 22, 2007, he said the president wrote a letter of suspension and set up a team that investigated him. Pastor Madvonsela said he responded with a letter that sought to draw the attention of the president to the church's constitution. He said he discovered that the constitution had been flouted with impunity. He said the charges were not spelt out in the letter of suspension as dictated by the church's constitution. He said the complainants were also not known. "I didn't know the people who were complaining about my conduct. I should have known that," he said. He said the church committee went to the president to tell him that they were not aware of the case - and as a result they lacked substantive evidence to pin him down. "But the president told them that he had already set up an inquiry. This inquiry, I can say, is just a witch hunt. "Their terms of reference are not clear and they don't know what they are looking for," said Pastor Madvonsela. Called for comment, Nhlanhla, the male nurse, said it was tough for him to make a comment on the matter because he did not know how it reached this newspaper in the first place. He then hinted that he would not confirm or deny knowledge of the matter. "I think the people who told you this story should proceed with everything. They should give you all the details," said Nhlanhla. The East District President, Rev. Timothy Dlamini ,said internal structures were working on the matter, adding that it would be wrong for him to make comments yet the case was under investigation.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.