Pastor gets 30 years in jail for sexual assault of young men

A pastor who ingratiated himself with teenage boys and young men before raping and sexually assaulting them has been sentenced to an effective 30 years in prison in the Witbank Regional Court.

The long jail term has been welcomed by the police commissioner for Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, who praised the courage of the victims – who were aged between 17 and 23 at the time of the offences – for coming forward and being willing to testify in court.

Accused was convicted on five charges

Sthembiso Nathaniel Kubheka, aged 38, was convicted on one charge of rape and four of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on each charge.

Two sentences will run concurrently, but on the other three convictions he will not have an option to apply for a parole. This equates to an effective 30 years behind bars.

The accused was also found to be unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be entered into the register of sexual offenders.

Met victims while hosting revival crusades

Kubheka took advantage of his victims by ingratiating himself with them while hosting revival crusades in various areas of KZN and Mpumalanga.

During these crusades, he would make friends with the victims and lure them through social media platforms to visit him in Vosman, near Witbank.

“Around December 2015, Kubheka had managed to build trust with his victims and even enticed them by promising to conduct special prayers in private for them. Once they arrived at his place, the accused would make sexual advances,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.

Police say the sentence is ‘well deserved’

At least five young males are known to have fallen victim. Police were notified and, following an investigation, the pastor was arrested in January 2016.

Hlati said the court was presented with “overwhelming evidence” against Kubheka and the sentence was “well deserved”.