Four learners at the Etomba Combined School in the Ohangwena region have allegedly been impregnated by one of the Pentecostal church’s local pastors in the area.
According to Tatekulu George Nelulu, senior traditional leader of Eudaneko district in Oukwanyama, Pentecostal churches are destroying peace in the community while school learners are negatively affected.
Nelulu was speaking during the visit of Oukwanyama queen Ohamba Martha Mwadinomho Kristian Nelumbu who visited the Eudaneko district over the weekend.
Ohamba Nelumbu is visiting all traditional districts in the Oukwanyama to familiarise herself with the challenges faced by the communities. Nelulu informed the queen that school learners are now spending most of their time at the Pentecostal churches since they are being manipulated by the pastors.
“I have been receiving reports from the headmen and parents about their children being locked in the churches until late. Some of them end up missing classes,” Nelulu told the queen.
He further emphasised that some families, including neighbours, have been separated by the churches and self-proclaimed pastors.
“Our Ohamba of Oukwanyama, we are tired of these kinds of churches in our district. Please do something to remove these churches,” he appealed to the queen.
Community members who spoke to New Era, said the two Pentecostal churches in the area are causing mayhem their village to the extent that even married couples have now separated. The community members said they also heard about allegations of a pastor who is allegedly involved in sexual relationship with school learners. However, they are not sure exactly which pastor is the culprit as there are two Pentecostal churches in their
village, at Omunyekadi in the Ondobe constituency.
“These churches are affecting the studies of our learners. Our children are always there until late, especially during the exams,” said one of the concerned parents. Also speaking to this publication, Rachel Kaxwadi, a life skills teacher at Etomba Combined School, confirmed the pregnancy of at least seven learners at the school.
These pregnancies, however, cannot be linked to the pastor in question as none of the learners confirmed they were impregnated by a pastor, she said. “I also heard about the allegations in our village that there is a pastor of the Pentecostal church involved in sexual relationships with school learners,” she said. Kaxwadi said when school starts next month, all seven pregnant learners will be questioned to identify the names of the men who impregnated them.
Meanwhile, a pastor of Joy of Harvest Salvation Ministry, Toivo Nghitotelwa, who is the founder of the church in question, profusely denied the allegation.
The man of the cloth, however, confirmed that his church has four pregnant girls.
“Two girls were impregnated by the security guard, one girl was impregnated by one of our former church members who is a pastor now, while the fourth girl I do not know (sic) who impregnated her,” the clergy man narrated. Nghitotelwa further defended his church, contending there has never been any trouble in the village.
“If there is any marriage that got separated by the existence of my church or I approached [anyone demanding for sex they must contact my church,” he demanded.
In addition, he said the love-hate relationship between the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority is not new. Moreover, another pastor of a Pentecostal church in the Omunyekadi village, Nghilifavali Nghiishiko, said learners from Etomba Combined School are not members of his congregation.
However, he stated that he has been receiving complaints from the community regarding his fellow pastor’s Pentecostal church that apparently locked school learners in the church building until late. A 19-year-old girl Mariam Evalistus, who was allegedly impregnated by pastor Fransa Ndatitangi, confirmed she was not a school learner during the time she got impregnated.
“When I fell pregnant, I had dropped out of school already,” she said. Pastor Ndatitangi defended
himself, arguing that he is not wrong to impregnate a girl under the age of 20 because she is not a school learner. “People don’t like Pentecostal churches. It is normal for a pastor to meet someone in the church and impregnate her just like Elcin, Catholics and Evangelical pastors,” he said.