Cape Town - A female reverend who went on a hunger strike last week has spoken out about alleged sex attacks and discrimination she suffered at the hands of her colleagues.
Disgruntled Anglican Church Reverend June Major said she knows she’s “going to be crucified” after she revealed the name of her alleged attacker during a press conference on Wednesday.
The man may not be named because he hasn’t been charged.
Major, 47, hit the headlines last week when she embarked on a hunger strike after she was allegedly labelled a troublemaker by her former employer, Bishop Garth Counsell.
Major said she applied for a job in Australia and claimed Counsell wrote a reference letter in which he allegedly bad-mouthed her.
She ended her hunger strike on Sunday, shortly after a meeting with the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Reverend Thabo Makgoba.
On Tuesday she met with Counsell in the hope of coming to an agreement but the reverend says Counsell “would not budge as far as his decision was concerned”.
“Bishop Garth looked me in the eye, knowing that his decision robbed me of an income,” she said on Wednesday.
“Bishop Garth has informed the Bishop in Australia that there have been incidents in my parish, but he is unable to provide them with tangible proof or substance.
“I have been unfairly discriminated against due to the fact that I am a woman. As a result of this… I have ended up jobless and homeless. I would have received a package of R42 922 per month in Australia.”
In another shocking revelation, Major claimed that another reverend tried to rape her twice while they were in Grahamstown.
The alleged attacks happened more than a decade ago, but she only reported it to police in January this year.
“I kept quiet about it to protect the church but I can’t be silent anymore,” she said.
“He came into my room and forced himself on me. I tried to get him off but he wouldn’t budge, at that stage I felt his manhood against me.
“I was crying and eventually got him off. A few minutes later [he] came back. I told him to stop, he then left,” she said.
She alleged that the docket has since “gone missing somewhere between Bellville police and Grahamstown”.
“I want justice. [He] needs to be fired, he has no right to be a priest,” added Major
The Daily Voice contacted the reverend, who said he was aware of the allegations against him.
“The allegations are nonsense, I can’t comment any further,” he said.
Captain FC Van Wyk confirms a charge was laid.
“The docket has been transferred from SAPS Bellville to Grahamstown, as the crime occurred in their precinct.”
Daily Voice