No freedom yet for Bishop Roxley Masevhe

Following Bishop Roxley Masevhe’s failed urgent formal bail application on Friday, 19 January, when the State asked for a postponement as it was not ready and a presiding officer was not available, the fallen man of the church will have to wait yet a while longer to know his fate.

Masevhe stands accused of raping a 17-year-old girl. The rapes are said to have happened for almost a year, starting in 2023 until his arrest on 8 January this year. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying he had no knowledge of these incidents.

During his appearance on Tuesday, 23 January, the court was filled with pastors and bishops who had come to support one of their own. Gender activists were also in attendance.

The bail application was in the form of an affidavit, which was submitted to the court by Masevhe’s legal representative, who referred to Masevhe as a suitable candidate for bail. The State, however, is opposing bail and has called its first witness, W/O Khorommbi Tshivalo, who is the investigating officer.

Tshivalo described Bishop Masevhe as a flight risk and not suitable to be released on bail. He explained to the court how difficult getting Masevhe to report to the police station had been for him. Tshivalo said Masevhe had promised to come to the police station on Sunday, 7 January, but had only showed up the next day, in the company of his lawyer. Tshivalo further told the court that, despite the bishop’s passport having expired, Masevhe had told him that he still went to Botswana to preach. Tshivalo was also of the opinion that Masevhe would interfere with witnesses if he were to be released on bail, indicating two instances where Masevhe had tried to reach out to the victim and her family to plead for forgiveness.

Tshivalo said he had a strong case, considering what his investigation had revealed so far. He told the court that the bishop would pick the victim up from her school boarding on several occasions, where the boarding master had complained about the late outings with the girl, which allegedly led to her failing her Grade 12 exams.

The bail application is to continue on 30 January.

Date:26 January 2024

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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