Johannesburg – The first witness at the Archbishop Stephen Zondo trial continued to be cross-examined by the defence on Friday, after an entire week on the stand.
After days of being grilled on the stand by the defence the witness has remained calm and resolute.
The witness testified that she had only told her brother years after the rape happened in 1981 but did not give much details of how the rape occurred.
The witness has told the court that she was raped three times during her three-month stay at her grandparents’ home in Sebokeng.
In the third incident, the witness, who was eight years old at the time ran away from her great-grandparents home to her paternal home.
The defence questioned why the witness never told her father about the rape when she returned to her parental home, as they were close.
“I did not tell my father. As I said, it was taboo to speak to elderly people about sex, kissing or anything relating to intimacy,” she shared.
The defence further asked, “Are you telling this court if a boy rapes a girl, and that girl happens to be you, you would not be given an ear because it was taboo.”
The proceedings on Friday were centered around the last time she saw the accused.
During the cross-examination it was further revealed that the witness last saw the accused at a funeral which they both attended, and she was further questioned on those events.
During the cross-examination it also emerged that the witness’s late husband and the accused were cordial and that the accused would visit the witness’s late husband at their barbershop.
The witness who is a relative of Zondo was asked to share very explicit details of how the accused would rape her.
The defence also asked the witness to demonstrate to the court how the accused would play with his penis before applying vaseline on both their private parts before raping her.
The witness was furthermore asked about how the room which the accused would rape her in looked like and what furniture was in the room at that time.
Zondo, who is the accused, has remained calm throughout the entire week and has been listening attentively to the proceedings.
Zondo pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Members of his church have been coming out in numbers to support the accused, regardless of the allegations against him.
The members of the Rivers of Life were spotted in the courtroom and some of them outside the Pretoria High court singing in the scorching sun, holding banners in support of Zondo.
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