RIVERS of Living Waters Church leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo will be back in court on Wednesday when it will be revealed whether he will step into the witness box to present his defence against the host of rape charges against him or whether he will fight the refusal of a judge to grant him a discharge.

Zondo applied for the court to clear his name at the end of the State’s case, as he claimed that the State had produced insufficient evidence to prove its case against him. Thus, he argued, there was no case for him to answer to.

This application followed after the prosecution had closed its case against him, after calling a host of witnesses.

Zondo claimed that the witnesses - mostly alleged victims - lied in court that he had raped them. He claimed they aimed to tarnish his name and to destroy him. He maintained that some of them were jealous of the fact that he was a wealthy man.

But Judge Papi Mosopa this week turned down the application, stating that, based on the evidence from the alleged victims, Zondo had a case to answer.

Following the dismissal of his discharge application, Zondo is left with the choice of either testifying in his own defence or allowing his defence team to close his case, without giving evidence. The latter choice, however, leaves the court open to accept the evidence of the witnesses.

It appears that Zondo is set on avoiding taking the witness stand, with his advocate, Piet Pistorius, asking Judge Mosopa for a copy of his judgment in the discharge application, so that the defence team can study the reasons for the refusal.

This will be handed over to the defence on Wednesday when they will indicate the way forward, which can include appealing the refusal or even asking for the recusal of the judge.

Zondo earlier pleaded not guilty to 10 sex-related charges. Although he did not divulge his defence, it became clear during the prosecution’s case that he claims his alleged victims are lying, either to extort money from him or to establish their own rival church.

The last witness the prosecution called was well-known forensic psychologist Professor Gerard Labuschagne, who provided psychological insights into the delayed reporting of the complainants in this case regarding their allegations of rape. He also testified about the impact of rape myths and sexual abuse by religious figures.

The seven alleged victims have testified since the start of the trial towards the end of 2021. Most of them only came to the fore regarding their rape allegations years later.

The complainant mentioned in count 1 alleges that the rape incidents took place during the 1980s when she was still a young child. Her reason for remaining silent all these years is that she feared Zondo.

Labuschagne, during his evidence, meanwhile, said many sexual assault victims delay reporting the incident to the police and even more never report this.

Research concluded in Gauteng found that only one in 25 women who had been raped reported this to the police.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za

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Bishop Zondo's fate hangs in the balance as rape trial continues