A BINGA pastor has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for sodomising a 15-year-old boy from his Brethren in Christ Church.

John Mwembe, 45, who is based in Binga pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent assault when he appeared before Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga on Tuesday.

He will serve 15 years of the sentence after the magistrate suspended three years on conditions.

Asked why he committed the crime, Mwembe, who has a pending case at Binga Civil court for bedding his brother’s wife, said he was tempted by the devil.

“I was overpowered by the devil. He noticed that I had been away from my wife for a long time and so he tempted me,” he said.

This prompted the magistrate to hit back: “So you are a man of the cloth but you decided to quench your thirst through anal sex with a 15-year-old boy?”

The disgraced pastor is not new to controversy involving sodomy with police investigating several other related allegations against him.

Mwembe, originally from Chief Pashu’s area in Binga, had visited Gomoza on the boundary of Binga and Lupane districts for a church service when he sodomised the schoolboy on October 12.

Prosecuting, Bheki Tshabalala told how Mwembe preyed on the boy after being offered a place to sleep by the teenager’s grandparents.

“Mwembe arrived in Sikhwehle Village at 4PM on October 12 to hold a church service in the village. At 8PM he went to sleep at the boy’s grandparents’ place.

“He slept on the bed while the boy and his 17-year-old brother slept on the floor,” said Tshabalala.

The court was told that Mwembe left the bed and sneaked into the boy’s blankets at night.

“The victim was half asleep when he felt somebody holding him by the waist with the manhood moving in and out in his anus,” said the prosecutor.

“The boy jumped as he checked but Mwembe also jumped and went back to his bed with his trousers at knee level.”

The court was told that the boy could not identify his assailant since it was dark in the bedroom hut.

In the morning he could not relieve himself as his anus was painful.

Two days later on October 14 at 2AM Mwembe once again sneaked from his blankets and pounced on the boy.

“He held him by the waist as he had sex with him until he ejaculated on the boy’s thighs. The victim woke up and lit a torch but the accused jumped and went back to his bed.

“At that moment the boy examined himself and noticed that there was semen on his thighs and blankets,” said Tshabalala.

He woke his elder brother up and they went to report to their grandparents.

A report was made to the police resulting in the pastor’s arrest.

The boy was referred to St Luke’s Hospital where he was treated.