When the Christian community speaks of Jehovah Jireh, they think of God the provider.
But now the pastor of Jehovah Jireh Church, Frank Tshabalala (34), has failed to provide the spiritual leadership his congregants needed, instead he became a predator.
On 8 June 2018, a 14-year-old minor who is a complainant in the matter, was on her way home in Blybank, Carletonville when she passed a group of three men.
After passing, Frank who was amongst the men followed her, grabbed her hand, and took her to a football ground where he assaulted her with an open hand, threatened her with a sharp object and proceeded to rape her several times.
On 22 January 2019, Frank met the second victim, a 26-year-old woman at Carletonville, after he had promised her a job opportunity through Facebook.
When the two met, he walked with her and led her to a veld where he raped her and stole her belongings. Thereafter, Tshabalala started using the complainant’s cellphone and contacted her relatives promising them job opportunities.
He was then arrested a few days later on 26 January 2019, after a relative of the complainant agreed to meet with him in Carletonville in a police trap.
After appearing in court, he was released on R 5000 bail.
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The Pretoria High Court reported that while out on bail, on 26 January 2020, Frank used the same modus operandi where he promised a 23-year-old woman employment on Facebook and asked to meet with her.
“When they met at Gateway Mall in Carletonville, they then went to Fochville, when they arrived at Fochville taxi rank, Tshabalala walked with her to a nearby veld where he raped her.”
His bail was revoked after he was arrested in June 2020, on a separate case where he was charged with rape and theft, and later sentenced to 15 years of direct imprisonment.
During the trial, he pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he was in a love relationship with all the victims including the 14-year-old girl who was still a virgin at the time of the incident.
However, prosecuting state advocate Michael Shivuri was able to adduce evidence that proved that indeed Frank committed the offences.
During the sentencing proceedings, Frank asked the court to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence and said the victims did not sustain any physical injuries during the offences.
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However, advocate Shivuri told the court that rape is a serious offence that is prevalent in the county and rape of women and children can never be justified. He asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
When handing down the sentence, Judge Granova agreed with the state that Frank showed no remorse for the offences, and he exploited the vulnerability of the women due to their financial circumstances and age.
“Having weighed all mitigating and aggravating circumstances, nothing merits the kind of leniency [Frank] asked for in respect of the rape charges,” the judge said.
Franks was then sentenced to two life terms for 2 counts of rape, 15 years direct imprisonment for statutory rape, 10 years for theft and one-year direct imprisonment for assault.
