Pastor Luthando Matodlana of the God is Love Ministry in Motherwell, Gqeberha, South Africa, was convicted of rape.
Matodlana was found guilty of raping a 22-year-old man in 2013 by Magistrate Aubrey Mashigo in the Motherwell regional court.
Matodlana was arrested on Friday, May 20, after being convicted, but will appear in court for sentencing on Monday, May 23.
Mashigo stated in her decision that the National Prosecuting Authority’s team proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the former Mpuma Kapa TV resident pastor was guilty.
Matodlana’s victim, who was 22 at the time of the incident, told the court that they spoke on Mxit shortly after meeting the pastor in January 2013.
He stated that the pastor invited him to his Motherwell home between the months of February and March. Matodlana invited him to his bedroom after a brief period of sitting in the lounge.
Both men sat on the bed in the bedroom and had a brief conversation before Matodlana attempted to kiss him.
According to the victim, Matodlana told him to undress, and his refusal infuriated the pastor. He claimed he was terrified of Matodlana, who forced him to undress, drag him onto the bed, force him to lie face down, and then raped him.
Throughout the trial, Matodlana denied raped the man.
Matodlana accused his victim of being a gay sex worker who tried to extort money from him during the trial.
Mashigo, on the other hand, dismissed the pastor’s allegations against his victim as unacceptably false.
The pastor’s victim went on Facebook to describe his sexual assault.
Not long after the post went viral, Matodlana threatened to file defamation and extortion complaints with the police, claiming that his accuser had slandered him and demanded that he pay him to remain silent about the incident.
According to the man, a police officer approached him a day or two after he posted about his ordeal and asked him to come to the police station to file a rape complaint.
Following a meeting between the man, the police, and Matodlana, the pastor’s accuser agreed to remove the post.
On June 23, 2020, the pastor’s victim filed a rape complaint against Matodlana after being advised to do so by concerned friends.
Matodlana was arrested on October 1, 2020, and was released on bail the following day. On October 29, he was formally charged in court and pleaded not guilty.