Pre-trial hearing for Nigerian pastor accused of rape

A Nigerian pastor and his alleged henchwomen, charged with human trafficking, made their first appearance in the Eastern Cape High Court (Port Elizabeth) on Thursday for a pre-trial conference. According to a report on the IoL site, the televangelist faces a string of charges, including rape. He allegedly trafficked more than 30 girls and women who were from various branches of his church to a house in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, where he allegedly sexually exploited them. He also faces five additional charges of fraud and for being in the country illegally. His alleged accomplices have been accused of recruiting girls, some only 13 years old, from all over the country and monitoring their movements in the houses where they were being kept. All three of the accused are being represented by Port Elizabeth attorney, Peter Daubermann. Judge Dayalin Chetty declared the case trial ready. The trial is expected to get under way on 8 October. The pastor has been denied bail on two occasions, as he was deemed a flight risk. The women were arrested in November last year and are out on bail of R2 000.