News24 | Pastor wanted for rape of mother and murder of her baby arrested in Gauteng

The alleged pastor wanted in connection with the rape of a woman and murder of her infant – sparking a manhunt – was arrested in Diepsloot, Gauteng.

(Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)

• The 36-year-old alleged pastor was arrested for the rape of a 43-year-old woman and the murder of her four-month-old baby.
• He was tracked down in Diepsloot on Saturday.
• His arrest brings the number now in custody for the crimes to three, with his two wives arrested previously. 

A 36-year-old supposed pastor wanted in connection with the rape of a 43-year-old woman, and the murder of her four-month-old baby, has been arrested in Diepsloot, Gauteng.

The man was arrested on Saturday afternoon.

According to police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, he was found hiding in a back room in Diepsloot informal settlement with injuries. The police did not disclose how those injuries were sustained.

His arrest brings to three the number of people now charged in connection with the incident, with his two wives having also been arrested and making their first appearance in the Atteridgeville Magistrates’ Court, in Pretoria, on Friday.

One of the wives, a 24-year-old woman, led police to the shallow grave where the infant’s body was found.

READ | Manhunt for pastor after baby found in shallow grave, mother raped in Gauteng

The man is expected to appear in court on Monday.

The woman was raped and her child killed on Wednesday, 7 October. She had accompanied the pastor and one of his wives to the Hennops River, near the R511 road, for a ritual.

It is understood the wife had remained behind with the baby while the pastor and the woman went down to the river, where she was raped and tied up before managing to free herself and seek help at a nearby construction site.

A multidisciplinary police team – including detectives from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit, Search and Rescue personnel, Crime Scene Management members and drone operators – was deployed and cases of kidnapping, rape and murder were opened.