EASTERN CAPE WOMAN URGES GOVERNEMENT OFFICIALS IN MBIZANA TO PROTECT YOUNG GIRLS FROM BEING RAPED BY A PASTOR

An Eastern Cape woman whose two grand-children were allegedly raped by a local pastor is pleading with government officials who seem to be conniving with this accused to at least protect young girls who have not yet fall victims of this man in her villages. Elsie Nteyi from KwaNikwe in Mbizana alleges that the pastor has raped her 12 and 16 year old grand children forcing the other one to terminate the pregnancy.. The frustrated grandmother uttered this after the Mbizana Magistrate court granted Pastor Malibongwe Gantsa of the Apostolic Vision Church a bail of R2000 on Monday. Nteyi 65, a former teacher from Lindokuhle Senior Primary in Mbizana has been struggling to get Pastor Malibongwe Gantsa to court to answer on allegations that he has raped her two grand children since last year.
Nteyi said allegations that Gantsa has raped her grand children began to crop up in August 2021 but the case ultimately set on January 2022. She believes that the delay is caused by government officials from Mbizana hospital, Police and at the justice department who seem to be conniving with the pastor. “All I need now is for these officials to protect the young girls who have not yet fallen prey to this pastor. I have made my research and I have found that he has raped other girls in different villages and they are afraid to come out’, said Nteyi.
According to Nteyi the pastor was introduced to her by the principal of Ntika SPS as a person who could heal her grand son who suffered from epilepsy in July last year. In August Gantsa came back to Nteyi’s home requesting to install a tent to conduct prayers on Friday and Saturday nights. I allowed the pastor to install the tent as I did not see anything wrong when a word of God was going to be spread in our area.
As the time goes on Nteyi said, she observed that the behaviour of her grand children is changing to an extent that she even discovered the sixteen year old was pregnant. I called her and I asked what happened. She told me that she has been sleeping with the pastor and has skipped her periods.
“I reported the matter to the principal who introduced the man to me thereafter the leadership of the church was called. Pastor Gantsa confessed in the presence of the Church leaders that she slept with the child. She also agreed that she made her pregnant. He also took the child to hospital to terminate the pregnancy because he feared embarrassment. In that meeting Gantsa offered to pay some cows for what he called, a damage, said Nteyi.
After observing the change of behaviour to the 12 year old, Nteyi decided to take her to hospital so that she can be checked if something has happened. The hospital nurses did not see anything and she took her to a private doctor. The doctor found out that the child has been penetrated. When the child was asked who did that to her she said, it is the pastor.
Pastor Gantsa appeared before the magistrate of Mbizana on Monday for raping the 12 year old. The case against the sixteen year old was dismissed by the prosecutor as they could not find grounds to prosecute. The case was remanded to the 24th of May and was transferred to the regional court. Gantsa is out on R2000 bail.
Reasons for me to conclude that the government officials are conniving on the matter emanate from the fact that, hospital nurses gave me a false report when I took the 12 year old to them so that they can check if something did not happen to her. They also tried to interdict me from opening a case against the pastor, saying that there is nothing I can do. A Social worker had to come from Bisho to give statement to the police about this incident. Even the treatment of this case by the police and justice department leaves much to be desired”, concluded Nteyi.