Pastor Luthando Matodlana of God is Love Ministry in Motherwell, Gqeberha, South Africa, has been found guilty of rape.
Magistrate Aubrey Mashigo found Matodlana guilty in the Motherwell regional court of raping a 22-year-old man in 2013.
Matodlana was taken into custody after being convicted on Friday, May 20, but will appear in court for sentencing on Monday, May 23.
In her judgment, Mashigo said the National Prosecuting Authority’s team had proven 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 shortly after meeting the pastor they spoke on Mxit in January 2013.
He said the pastor invited him to his Motherwell home between February and March. After sitting in the lounge for a brief period Matodlana invited him to his bedroom.
Once in the bedroom, both men sat on the bed and had a brief conversation before Matodlana attempted to kiss him.
The victim testified that Matodlana told him to undress and his refusal outraged the pastor. He said he had been fearful of Matodlana, who made him undress, pulled him onto the bed, forced him to lie face down and then raped him.
Matodlana denied throughout the trial that he had raped the man.
During the trial, Matodlana accused his victim of being a gay sex worker who had attempted to extort money from him.
However, Mashigo rejected the pastor’s allegations against his victim saying they could not be accepted and were false.
The pastor’s victim took to Facebook to share the details of his sexual assault.
Not long after the post was shared Matodlana threatened to file defamation and extortion complaints with the police, saying his accuser had slandered him and demanded he pays him to keep quiet about the incident.
The man says a day or two after posting about his ordeal a police officer asked him to come to the police station to file a complaint of rape.
A meeting later took place between the man, the police and Matodlana, and the pastor’s accuser had agreed to remove the post.
The pastor’s victim lodged a rape complaint against Matodlana on 23 June 2020 after being advised to do so by concerned friends.
Matodlana was arrested on 1 October 2020 and released on bail the same day. He was formally charged in court on 29 October where he pleaded not guilty.