Johannesburg – Archbishop Bafana Stephen Zondo and his pastor, Lydia Malete, have applied for an urgent interdict to stop the CRL Commission from forcing her to appear before it or face criminal prosecution.
Zondo and Malete of the Rivers of Living Waters Ministries, also want to interdict the commission from conducting further broadcast “hearings”.
Zondo’s lawyer, Jeff Rahlagane, confirmed that they had applied for an interdict but declined to comment further, citing the sub-judice rule.
In the papers that are in our possession, Zondo and Malete say the commission, a Chapter 9 institution, misunderstood the powers vested upon it as it did not have the power to conduct “hearings”, or to threaten witnesses with criminal prosecution.
Zondo and Malete said they had decided to take the legal route after she received a notice on November 26 to appear before the commission and give evidence on allegations that her niece had been sexually violated at the church.
She said her niece, according to the notice, is now mentally unstable. Malete said the commission did not give her or Zondo any further particulars.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
