South African ‘Doom pastor’s’ case postponed

January 31, 2018

A court in South African has been unable to give judgement in the case against the self-styled prophet, who has been accused of spraying his congregation with an insecticide, after his lawyer called in sick, a journalist has tweeted from the court.

Khumalo – a journalist with South Africa’s Star newspaper – also reports that the prosecutor asked Pastor Lethebo Rabalago lawyer “to come in his sick state but he said he lost his spectacles and would not be able to read the small fonts without spectacles”.

The pastor – who sprayed members of his congregation with the Doom insecticide, claiming it had healing powers – did not give evidence in his trial and did not call witnesses in his defence, she reports.

He has been charged with seven counts, including five counts of assault.

The self-styled prophet and his entourage was snapped leaving court in a small town in northern Limpopo province, as this tweet shows:

Campaigners expressed disappointment that the case has been postponed, saying justice delayed is justice denied.

The pastor has been at the centre of controversy since 2016 when a video emerged of him spraying a woman’s face with Doom.

At the time, said he said he had done it because she had an eye infection and claimed the woman was “just fine because she believed in the power of God”.