Woman pastor sentenced for exposing children to nudity

A woman pastor has been convicted and sentenced after she convinced members of her church to strip naked and expose their children to nudity in the North West. 

Zoliswa Menziwa, 36, was arrested in June 2022 after she was found in a house used as a church with five naked adults. The adults were two women and three men and 11 children were present. 

Police spokesperson Capt Sam Tselanyane said the nude church was raided after one of the members invited his wife. Upon her arrival, she was told to strip naked as Menziwa claimed this was a request from God. The woman instead fled the church and reported the matter to police. 

When police arrived, they found Menziwa was the only person dressed and was allegedly the church leader. The five naked adults seemed disorientated, he said. 

“Subsequent to preliminary investigations, children between the ages of four and 12, six boys and five girls, were removed from the house and handed to social workers for intervention and placed in the care of other family members,” Tselanyane said.

The case was investigated by the Rustenburg family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit. After an investigation, Menziwa was found guilty of contravening the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act.

The five co-accused congregants found naked were acquitted, Tselanyane said. 

“They seemed disorientated as if they were hypnotised. That is why they were sent for psychological help after the arrest and were referred to programmes to be taught life skills.”

Menziwa was sentenced by the Rustenburg regional court to two years' imprisonment, suspended for five years.

North West police commissioner Lt-Gen Sello Kwena said defending the vulnerable remains a priority for the police.

He lauded the investigating team for ensuring the perpetrators were held accountable.

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