Cape Town - A pastor who apparently kept condoms and porn inside a shack where he allegedly raped and sexually assaulted young congregants will be spending Christmas behind bars.
Pastor Gihno Perdo Makonono of Blue Skies Love Ministry in Khayelitsha made a brief appearance at the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court on Tuesday where he is facing two charges of rape and five of sexual assault for seven girls aged seven to 14 years old.
The matter was postponed to January 22 for his bail application.
Police arrested Makonono, 47, in November after he was allegedly caught red-handed with a 12-year-old victim inside his rented shack in Kalkfontein.
Police allegedly found condoms, silicone, vaseline and a DVD containing porn in the shack.
On Tuesday, some of the girls and their families, together with community leaders and members from the Greater Blue Downs Community Policing Forum, gathered outside the court to protest against bail.
They handed in a petition to the court with 200 signatures.
Prosecutors are set to prove that Makonono lured children, where he groomed them with porn and then molested them.
The grandmother of a 12-year-old girl told the Daily Voice that the child raised the alarm.
“There were children who pushed the door down and found the 12-year-old inside,” she said.
“He apparently told her to run because he knew the community would come for him.
“After that the 12-year-old got the other victims together and that is how the cases were made. He was arrested inside his (shack).”
Kalkfontein community leader, Ziyanda Ntlangani, 26, said the man was allegedly caught with items “of a sexual nature” in the shack.
“His church is in Khayelitsha and he was renting a room in Kalkfontein,” she said.
Wendell Slabbert, public relations officer for the Greater Blue Downs Police Cluster, is calling for children to be protected: “We are asking parents to be vigilant as we have just had 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children.”