A PASTOR has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for rape.
Apostle Luthando Matodlana was sentenced by the Motherwell Regional Court on Thursday, 26 May.
The God of Love Ministry pastor was found guilty of raping a man in 2013.
He was only arrested in 2020.
According to court papers, the rape took place after Matodlana and his victim first texted over Mxit. The man was invited to the pastor’s house in Motherwell, but he had no intention of sleeping with the pastor. The man spoke out about the rape on Facebook in 2020, which led to Matodlana’s arrest.
Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Aubrey Mashigo said: “The pastor is leading a church with 14 branches across Eastern Cape and he is directly involved in developing young people and the community at large. When he committed this offence he was still young and he never committed another offence since 2013, which shows he is a good candidate for rehabilitation.
“However, that doesn’t pay or put a shadow on what happened. Rape is like a sport in Motherwell and in this case, it is been committed on vulnerable members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community.”
Mashigo said the accused never showed any signs of remorse and didn’t take any responsibility.
“Even after his conviction, his congregant who came to testify during the pre-sentencing refused to believe the allegations and said he is a humble servant of God and will never commit such an act,” said Mashigo.
