Court Finds Rustenburg Church Leader Guilty of Sexual Offences Involving 11 Children

• A Church leader received a suspended prison sentence for sexually related charges involving minors
• The Incident involved 11 children found naked in a church setting outside Rustenburg
• The children, six boys and five girls, between the ages of four and 12, were removed from the house and placed in the care of social workers

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

NORTH WEST, RUSTENBURG - A woman described as a church leader has received a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of sexual charges against children in Rustenburg.

Exposing herself to children

The Rustenburg Regional Court sentenced 36-year-old Zoliswa Menziwa to two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, after convicting her of contravening the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act.

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The conviction stems from an incident on 1 June 2022, when police found five adults and 11 children naked inside a house being used as a church in Sondela Phase 1, Boitekong, outside Rustenburg. Menziwa was allegedly leading the church at the time.

Kids removed from the house

The children, six boys and five girls, between the ages of four and 12, were removed from the house and placed in the care of social workers before being reunited with their families. The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit later took over the investigation. Menziwa was subsequently convicted, while the other five adults were acquitted.

In sentencing, the court ordered that the two-year prison term be suspended on condition that Menziwa is not convicted of a similar offence during the five-year suspension period. North West provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Sello Kwena welcomed the outcome, saying police remained committed to combating crimes against women and children and ensuring accountability in cases involving vulnerable victims.

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What did South Africans say?

Social media users shared their opinions regarding the incident.

Londy Patson said:

"I wonder what happened there."

Ngqheche Ubisi said:

"If he happened to be a man, he should have been locked up and harshly treated."

Tiego A Mmakau said:

"Why not a jail term mara? Sies!"

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A Zimbabwean mother’s urgent attempt to relocate her three minor children to Zimbabwe was turned down by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, which ruled that the move would not, at this stage, be in the children’s best interests.

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The arrest of a High Court judge and a church leader has got South Africans once again questioning the state of the country’s criminal justice system. The judge, based in Gauteng, was arrested alongside the leader of a well-known church and two others were arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News