Johannesburg – Bishop Israel Makamu of the Endless Hope Bible Church has since been arrested for sexual assault, according to reports.
Makamu quit his job as presenter on Moja Love amid the storm the audio caused.
It comes after his alleged victim has since laid a sexual assault charge. It is believed the 17-year-old victim reported the assault at the Brackendowns Police Station, earlier this month.
Bishop appeared at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court which decided to release him on bail of R2000.
Reports further stated that Makamu denied asking the woman for sex and said he was asking for his church office keys instead.
Also read: Church leadership cannot be insulated from accountability
It is further reported that he made claims suggesting that the family tampered with the recording to make it seem as though it was anything sinister.
Earlier this month, Moja Love (DStv 157) accepted Bishop Makamu’s decision to voluntarily step down from the channel pending an internal investigation, after a recording with sexual connotations has been circulating on social media.
The channel said in a statement, “As a channel we will be conducting an internal investigation regarding the matter before Bishop Makamu is reinstated back to the channel. On consultation with the channel, Bishop Makamu maintains that he is innocent and says that the recording dates back to 2017.”
Read more: Bishop Israel Makamu steps down from Moja Love after video goes viral
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