Marriage breakdown spells bad news for pastor’s pockets after late night visits
Tuesday was a day of mixed emotions in court for a heartbroken Salajwe man, whose desperate pleas to his estranged wife to return home and help him raise their kids fell on deaf ears.
Alfred Kgano will at least have P20, 000 to dry his tears, however, after Mogoditshane Customary Court found Pastor, Onkamile Olefile guilty of wrecking the father-of-two’s decade-long marriage to Onkemetse Kgano.
Presiding over the scandal, Kgosi Tswina Mochudi told the unemployed Man of God he has two years to settle the debt. Should Olefile fail to pay the monies by then, his livestock will be seized and put up for auction.
It could have been worse for the Mogoditshane-based pastor, as the aggrieved husband had been seeking P30, 000 to mend his bruised heart – an amount the accused insisted he would never be able to pay.
Narrating his tale of woe, an upset Alfred told court he became suspicious that his wife was sleeping with Olefile at some point last year.
“I have caught the two together on two different occasions and I have raised my concern about it of which they never took heed. On the first instance, I found my wife at this man’s [Olefile] place around midnight claiming that she was seeking pastoral intervention,” he seethed, adding the second time he ambushed them together, Onkemetse ran to the toilet to hide.
Becoming more and more emotional as he continued his testimony, Alfred said his wife started denying him sex.
His frustrations grew when he found messages on Onkemetse’s phone which suggested the affair had been going on since 2021.
“I had bought a phone for my wife, which I asked her to return upon realisation that she was cheating,” explained Alfred, who said he managed to retrieve text messages from Olefile telling Onkemetse he was willing to commit fully to the relationship if she left her husband.
One of the damaging messages he presented as evidence before court read, “Babe ke go rata go feta sengwe le sengwe, that is why ke batla go nna nako tsotlhe ke nale wena. Babe please ako o tlogele batho ba Salajwe (Babe I love you more than everything, that is why I always want to be with you all the time. Babe please leave those people from Salajwe).”
Insisting this was all nonsense, Olefile vehemently denied the affair.
“I am just a pastor who offered help to a trouble lady and that is all,” he protested.
While he admitted Onkemetse went to see him, the pastor maintained she was seeking prayers because her husband was a drunkard who regularly beat her.
Olefile further said that at the time Alfred found them together, he was preparing holy water for Onkemetse and her brother to pacify their respective troubles.
At this point, Kgosi Mochudi interrupted to ask, “How do you assist a married woman in such at awkward hours when her husband is absent?”
In response, Olefile explained he assisted, without fail, everyone who came to him seeking help.
Backing up her alleged lover’s claims, Onkemetse told court her husband was the only one responsible for ruining the marriage due to his uncontrollable love for beer and the outrageous drunken behavior that followed.
She was also insistent on the fact that she went to the pastor for ‘the right reasons’ and not to satisfy any sexual desires.
“Our parents have tried to intervene but nothing. I got fed up and filed for divorce,” she concluded, adding that although she has since withdrawn the matter, she has no intention of getting back with Alfred – much to his dismay!
Meanwhile, the pastor has 30 days to appeal the sentence should he so desire.
